The World A King Only Knows
by American Theorist Bros
Summary: "Raja". In Hindi, it means king. It's ironic that the person who deserves that title the most... doesn't believe he's fit to be king. He's a human, losing much in his life. However, with his name, and with his skill... He will live up to his name in the 21st century, and will keep moving forward... With Elsie and Haqua, along with many people, with him. Same Universe. Harem.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys. Now, this is going to be a continuation of The World God Only Knows, but set in the future, after Keima finally manages to free all the loose souls in his city. This will star a new character, but one with a similar personality to Keima Katsuragi. Though he will be different in some crucial ways, so let's go onto the first installment of The World A King Only Knows.**

I walked into my High school, with a Nintendo Switch in my hands, playing the new Super Smash Bros Installment that Nintendo decided to make for a cash grab.

I had 63 level nine CPUs against me, all set to random, and my default was Link from BOTW.

'They don't even have the skin for the newest Link yet. The game came out literally half a year ago.'

I walked around my school, ignoring the people around me, and started the battle. Within a minute, all the CPUs had died, leaving only me to pick up first.

'Jeez. Games have gotten easy nowadays. Or maybe that's just me getting better.'

I laughed at that silently.

I sat down on the chair of my desk, next to people who I barely knew.

The warning bell rang, and everyone except me stood up for the Pledge of Allegiance.

'What's the point of saying the pledge of allegiance? Its just the most complicated way of saying I won't become a terrorist.'

After the pledge went on, the teacher would announce one thing or another, before handing back the tests, where I finally put away my switch and check the score.

100 percent.

I couldn't even smile anymore at getting that score.

Our class then started, with my science teacher in particular being really lax, wanting to make sure we all knew what we got wrong.

I scoffed at it.

Just in Middle School, I would have loved to have that kind of teacher.

Now, I just ignored him and continued on with Super Smash Bros.

I pushed down any guilt I felt, and continued playing.

Then, we started the actual new lesson, and I dropped everything I was doing to listen.

A sigh of relief would pass through my teacher, as he saw me and many others finally pay attention.

I got my notebook out.

"Alright, now that everyone is focusing, let's talk about evolution."

Opening my notebook, I scanned the pages, till I saw the title I was looking for.

Evolution.

I saw the contents of the chapter.

Notes, with a fancy cursive writing, detailing everything that the teacher talked about.

'Thank you... Niha.'

My thoughts became sober, but I pushed them away to focus.

That was how my class started.

At the end of class, we had free period, which everyone took to freak out.

"Raja! Can you help me out?! I need help for the retest."

One of the guys, named Joe, came up to me.

So, like usual, I asked.

"I'm not doing this for free. Your parents gave you the money for tutoring, didn't they?"

He sighed, as he slid a 20 dollar bill on the table.

I didn't pick it up.

I looked at him, and his MacBook pro he carried on his side.

'If you and your parents can afford that, you can give me more than that.'

He saw what I thought, and slid another 20 dollar bill.

I still didn't pick it up.

"Come on! I don't have any more!"

"That's a lie."

His eyes widened, and he seemed to try to stay adamant.

"If you don't want to pass, fine."

"Wait."

He fished out some money out of his pockets.

Total?

60 on my desk.

"Here. You happy?"

I didn't answer.

"Okay, sit next to me."

I still didn't pick the money up.

Within 30 minutes of Quizlet studying, he knew the previous test to a T.

"Good. You should know it by now."

"Thank you, Raja! You're my savior."

I clicked my tongue.

"Be quiet, kid. Just actually get some damn results, instead of playing video games during class."

He looked like he went from grateful to pissed.

He didn't say anything, but I heard him almost seeth out,

"Like you are any better."

"I am. That's why you asked for my help, isn't it?"

I acted like a prick.

I knew that.

I did it for a reason.

"At least I study and work hard."

He looked like he wanted to punch me, but I knew he wouldn't.

Even if he did, he wouldn't hurt me.

He stormed away, leaving me to pick up the change he gave me.

'Jeez. Just work, for one day in your goddamn life. Maybe then you'll actually won't have to deal with a piece of shit like me.'

This was a normal day for me.

Me being a piece of shit to motivate them, and then it failing.

But, at the end of the day, it was very different.

I took the bus home, studying during the ride.

Since I was one of the last stops, it would take over an hour to get to my house by bus.

'The school system doesn't pay their employees enough.'

The bus driver ahead was driving, trying to go as quickly as possible.

She also swerved, continuing to take shortcuts to get to the stops.

Eventually, many of the kids, including me, got off to our stop, and some had threw up.

'Sorry, but you're just going to get used to it.'

I cringed at my memories of middle school, but then pushed past it.

I wore my headphones, playing my playlist at low volume.

I smirked slightly when I heard Stay High, humming the tune.

'Dang. It's been a while since I've heard that.'

I thought I saw a tear fall down.

'What?'

I felt no tears coming from my eyes.

Then more fell.

But not from my face.

I looked up, and saw that it started to rain, so I ran to the front door.

This time, I heard something ding, and I immediately checked my phone.

"Hey, I heard you are good at playing video games. I have a video game that is impossible to beat."

I read it aloud, as I opened the door.

It felt like time had temporarily stopped.

I felt every single rain drop freeze within the air.

'A game I can't beat? What?'

I would have laughed at it, but I settled on a frown as I locked the front door.

Dumping my briefcase on my bed, I sat down, on my work desk.

"Seriously. It's 2019. Why do we still have to do paper homework?"

I moved my keyboard and mouse, and did the remaining amount of work in under 2 hours.

Then, I put everything away, and docked my switch.

However, I didn't need it.

'Finally.'

I turned on my PC, and launched what was a game I had gotten really good with.

But, the message that had been sent earlier still stuck to my memory, even while I was playing CS: GO, so much so that someone managed to get a shot on me. I dodged any other attacks, and later killed him in the game, making me the winner.

Technically, my team won, but I hard carried them.

None of them managed to get a single kill.

I stole the chance from them.

After the round had finished, I quit and walked down the stairs.

I decided to make an egg sandwich with tea.

After a few minutes, it was done.

I drank the herbal tea, as it soothed my throat, with the egg sandwich.

It... Made me calm.

The tea... Washed any memories away.

The sandwich... Made my brain speed up.

I looked around, with the dimly lit living room.

I felt... Like a chill ran down my spine.

'I miss you guys.'

My phone rang.

The guy had sent me another text message.

'What, are you scared to not be able to be perfect at everything, Raja?'

That ticked me off.

'I.. have to be perfect. That's what Niha was.'

'Fine, what game is so difficult that even I cannot win it?' I texted back.

"Life," I said out loud as the texter responded immediately

I raised my eyebrow, not expecting them to respond with it.

'So, do you accept to beat the Real Game of Life? Use your powers you've gained through gaming?"

I smirked. 'What's so hard about life? I accept to play this "game" as you called it.'

I sent it, not knowing how my life would change from that moment onwards.

Then, seconds later, I was teleported out of my house and outside, when it was currently pouring.

"Wait, how did I get out here?!"

A section of the sky suddenly cleared, as a purple-haired woman and a brown-haired girl fell from the sky, and two collars appeared on my neck that wasn't there beforehand.

At first, one of the collars was choking me, and I collapsed on the wet porch.

"Oh, sorry." I looked up as the Purplette spoke, and typed something into her scarf, to which the collar loosened, and I replaced the missing air in my lungs from the wet environment.

"W… who… the hell… " I wheeze. "Are you two?"

"Oh! I'm Elsie, and this is my friend Haqua."

"Aqua?" I groaned, remembering a particular character.

"No, Haqua, with an H." The Purpelette was a little bit frustrated with my attitude, but she tried not to reveal it on her face.

"Oh. Well, that explains everything!"

"What does that explain?" Elsie asked.

I groaned and yelled out. "ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!"

Haqua covered her ears, where Elsie ended up flying off to not damage her own.

They... Looked confused.

I sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just soaked with the rain, I have a choker necklace on, and I have no idea where you girls came from, or what you girls are." I opened the door that led to the dining table. "Can we talk inside, where I can dry off?"

Haqua nodded towards Elsie, which signaled the brunette to fly down with her pink scarf.

They came inside, surprisingly without being wet, along with me.

"Here. You guys have this." I handed both girls an egg sandwich that I had made. "If you want tea, there is a section of tea next to that cabinet. I'll change into something else."

While I was walking away, both of the girls asked, "You can cook?!"

Without looking at their faces, I spoke, "Yeah, I can cook."

Then, I rushed to my room to remove the collars, but it was wrapped so tightly against my neck that, even after my attempts, it didn't budge.

'Who are they?'

I sighed, then I worked on actually changing my clothes. I just wore Sweatpants and a basic full-sleeved shirt.

Out goes my dress shirt and jeans.

'What the Hell have I gotten myself into?'

I hoped for those questions to be answered.

I made my way downstairs, as I saw the girls finishing up their sandwiches.

"Now, Haqua, Elsie, if those are your names…" They nodded with their mouths full.

"Who are you people, and why did you hook two collars onto my neck?"

"Oh, we are devils!" Elsie spat out, along with her food.

I raised my eyebrow. "Like, are the angels the evil people and the devils good?"

I remembered a blond-haired angel who was just staying in her apartment building, while a demon actually was helping out people.

The purplette stared through me as if she were looking for anything bad, but she sighed, which I guess meant that she didn't.

"Well, not really. The old Devils, they were evil. However, New hell is filled with Devils who are trying to help humanity." She paused. "You can understand it by remembering that the New Devils are like what you humans perceive to be angels, whereas the old devils are how humans perceived devils."

"Okay, but what about the collar around my neck?" I pointed near my headphones, where the dual metal collar was placed.

"Well, that is a contract." The Purplette continued. "If you void your contract with either one of us, it is either your head or your spine that will come off."

'Great, now I'm the new Joesph Joestar. Are they the Pillar men or something?' I tried to make a joke, but I still couldn't genuinely smile.

"Okay. What is the deal of the contract? To win at the "game" known as life? What does that even mean?"

The girls looked like they had been shocked by a lightning strike. "Wait, aren't you a gamer?" Elsie said.

"Well, yeah. So?" My impatience showed through me.

"Well, don't you play dating sims?" Elsie asked.

My eyes widened. "What?! No! Why would I? Most Dating Sims are complete crap. They have no story, and are completely unrealistic. Clannad and DDLC are the only dating sim games I can actually enjoy playing."

Then, their facial expression shifted to an 'aw shit' moment, as if they have gone down this path beforehand.

"You still haven't answered my question." My voice darkened the room, to the point where even the girl devils backed away from my gaze.

"Um… well, the contract requires you to make girls fall in love with you."

Out of all the things that I thought they would say, I didn't think that would be one of them.

"Make… girls… love… me?" I asked, spacing out each word. They nodded.

Then, I started chuckling. I burst into laughter, not believing what they were saying.

After I calmed down, they held the serious looks on their mouths. I narrowed my eyes. "Wait, you serious?"

They nodded, afraid to speak.

Without answering, I ran off to my room. I locked it and covered it.

'No, this is all a dream, or maybe you misheard what she said.'

"The contract requires you to make girls fall in love with you." Debunking my denial was a certain purplette.

I turned around, and backed against the locked door, trying to stop myself from screaming out.

Haqua managed to appear in my room, along with Elsie, despite my door being locked.

'Well, I guess they are devils, so going between walls shouldn't be that much of a stretch.'

After being cornered, I sighed.

'No way out of this mess.' I walked away from the door and motioned for the girls to sit on my bed, while I sat on my gaming chair.

"Okay. Why? Can you explain why?"

"The Old devils that I spoke of," Haqua explained, "they have created other forms, called a Weiss, that try to infect girls with negative thoughts to bring the Old Hell back, along with their forms."

I was confused by what she meant by negative thoughts, but I let her continue. "Once a Weiss infects a host girl by hiding in the gap within their heart, it is only a matter of time before they are so infected by their negative thoughts, and, if the Weiss fully infects the body, the girl would give birth to the Weiss and, the girl giving birth would..."

My eyes widened.

'Is that... What happened to Mom and Niha?'

I stood up. "That's all I needed to hear."

Elsie looked at me curiously. "Wait, what?"

"So, I'm guessing the devil that infects the girl's body will end up killing all of humanity, and destroying your home, this New Hell. Surely you godly beings wouldn't need a mortal to save humanity if either you couldn't save them yourself or me saving them would save you in some way, right?"

Haqua and Elsie both looked at me with a glimmer of… familiarity.

Without them answering, I answered, "Okay. I'll do it. I'll try to save humanity."

"Wait, you agreed that easily?" Both the girls asked at the same time.

"I'm guessing that scarf of yours told you my name, right? Raja. In my parent's tongue, it means king."

I walked past them, looking towards the windows that were connected to the outside.

"So, as a king, I will have to help my people, the people of this world."

"Wow! You're amazing!" Elsie said behind me.

"Are you sure you aren't doing this so you can get a girlfriend?"

That made me laugh. "I won't be able to get a girl to tolerate me, let alone agree to date me. They don't have to."

My eyes face towards the two devils. I wasn't sure what Haqua was feeling, but Elsie looked like she sympathized with me. "But, I can't stand the world being destroyed, so I'll save them."

"H… How can you be so confident that, without playing any dating sims or with no social interaction, that you can somehow make a harem made up of thousands of people around the world?!" Haqua looked agitated.

'Harem? No.'

I almost was disgusted by the thought, but I was good at hiding that.

"Because I…" I looked towards them with my most confident fake smile. "Am going to become the King of this world. And I will save humanity."

No matter how little I believed what I said, I would save the world.

Maybe... Save more people like Niha.

Maybe... Even myself.

**A new Genius takes the forefront to become the king of the world. So, if you want to see more, make sure to subscribe, like, and check out some of my other stories that I am going to post.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. I wanted to thank everyone who is currently following the story. Sorry for the second chapter, but I wanted to redo the second chapter because, as I read the chapter again, it didn't make sense for the plans I had for the characters, so I cut it in half and Now, without further adieu, let's learn of The World A King Only Knows.**

Elise and Haqua were currently sleeping. However, even at 5 am, I hadn't slept a wink.

'So, I need to make girls fall in love with me.' I chuckled. 'Never thought that I would do that.'

I was trying to think of the multiple girls in my school/life.

My mind blanked for the last time.

"Dang. I really didn't have this objective in mind."

I tip-toed down the stairs, keeping the girl devils from waking up.

'I'll cook some things for the girls. Maybe that will give me an idea.'

I started the heat, coated the pan with oil, and cracked a few eggs in a bowl to prepare French Toast.

I added a few drops of water to the oil, making sure it was hot enough to put an egg and toast. Sure enough, the oil sizzled, and I added sugar to the egg, and I had the toast soak in the egg. I laid the two pieces of the yellowed toast on the pan. The fragrance of the sugar-coated the air, and soon enough, 2 devils came into the kitchen with their eyes slightly open, and with childish grins painted on their faces.

I faced towards the brunette and the purplette, turning the heat off.

"Guys, can you sit at the table? I'll bring the food and utensils."

The girls hypnotically nodded, as they disappeared to the table.

Facing back towards my creation, I put the French toast on two separate plates and brought Maple Syrup to them as well as utensils.

The maple syrup was placed in the center, while the plates were placed in front of the girls, as they started looking at the French Toast with… a surprising amount of joy.

"Anyway, you girls eat." I walked away towards the staircase leading to the upstairs shower.

"Wait, what about you?" Elsie's voice expressed compassion and a slight amount of worry.

I turned towards the girls before they devoured their breakfast. "Nah, you girls eat, I'll be fine. We need to be ready in about an hour, so get ready, okay? You'll need to get forms for the school to transfer. I'll help you with most of the things to get in."

Haqua smiled as she said, "You are a strange person, Raja."

I smiled. "I know."

I walked up the stairs, and after showering, I printed the syllabi and the various forms the girls needed for school and signing their names.

'Elsie Ima, and Haqua Hermann. I know those aren't their full names, but it is more normal-sounding than their actual full names, so I'm going to go with those names.'

All the information, except their signature, was printed onto the form.

I ran down to them. "So, this will be your new names."

I handed them the forms, and Elsie's eyes widened. "Wait, you kept a part of my real name?" She looked on the verge of tears, before colliding with me and entrapping me within her arms.

"Uh, no problem Elsie." I patted her head, which made her release me from her grip, and Haqua looked to be… red? I couldn't tell.

"Though, why did you shorten our names?" She looked to be slightly disappointed but in a more composed manner.

"Well, the thing is, I didn't want you to be caught completely off guard when your name is being called."

"Oh, no problem! I'm happy that you helped us at all!"

She assumed a stance of sorts, one where she saluted me like I was a soldier of war.

"Well, no problem. Though, if you like, I could change the name, Haqua."

"D… don't be stupid! I… never said I didn't like it…"

'Oh crap. A tsundere.'

"Well, okay. Then, you both will need to either sign the forms with a parents' or guardian's name. If you guys wait till later today, my Dad will be able to sign it, and you will be under his "legal guardianship" even if you won't be raised by him." Then, my brain stopped.

"Actually, how old are you two?"

"Huh? I think somewhere above 300 years?" Elsie answered.

'Damn. Another perk of being a devil.'

"Well, forget about that age. You're going to be 15, and your birthday is March 14, correct?"

Elsie nodded, so I turned towards Haqua.

"You are going to be 16, and your birthday is your actual one, April 24."

Haqua also nodded.

"So, I'll scan the forms and send them to my school. Get dressed." I noticed how their French Toasts were completely gone, along with anything else on the plate.

"It's fine. We'll take it."

They took their respective forms from my hand and went upstairs, as I continued to think about my contract.

'Well, I guess being observant of other people would be a start. I'll leave my switch behind today.'

I put the dishes in the dishwasher and picked up my briefcase that had all of my materials for school.

"Haqua? Elsie? We have to go to the bus now." I called out to them from the bottom of the stairs.

"Bus?" Elsie responded. "I thought we were going to teleport there?"

"We are?" I remembered that they had the abilities of devils.

"Well, okay, then never mind." I scratched the back of my head. "Well, then we can leave in about an hour."

"An hour?!" Elsie screeched. She looked at my face from the top of the stairs. "Why did you wake us up so early then?!"

'I didn't wake you up, you guys woke up to eat.'

"Well, because I thought that we were going via the bus, but since we aren't, we are going to leave here at around 6:45." Haqua suddenly appeared behind me, anger apparent on her face.

"You woke me up..." She raised her scythe towards the sky. "Over an hour early?!"

She swung her scythe at me, tearing me through the wall and breaking every bone in my body.

I struggled to breathe, as I was face down, against the grass, with my face buried underground.

I tried getting up, and I finally was able to crawl back inside the hole.

Blood spilled from my mouth, face, arms, legs, and everything else.

I felt I was going to die, as I saw Haqua again above me.

However, I managed to say, when I looked at Haqua above me about to hit me again,

"Why?"

I started reflexively crying as the pain kicked in, as well as the memories. I hid my face, but my words were heard.

"Why does everyone who I help hurt me? Why does no one appreciate what I do, and they just blame me for everything wrong?"

I waited for another strike, but it didn't come. As the tears stained my face, I looked up and saw both Elsie and Haqua look at me.

Elsie, with eyes that would usually look in awe, looked at me with confusion, with a hint of pity. Haqua looked at me with a slight amount of guilt, but she waved it off as if I didn't matter. My injuries were healed, but I didn't care. I didn't want to see them anymore.

I stood up, pushing away from them to go through the door to the bus.

'Why did I think they would be any different? Bunch of ungrateful Devils.'

I ran to the bus, where I clasped and cranked my headphones till the world, and the memories that filled my mind slowly faded away.

At lunch, after my 5th period, was where the two devils spotted me.

They were talking amongst themselves, but Elsie grabbed me with her scarf, preventing me from escaping their questions.

After tethering me to their voices, I reluctantly sat down with my school lunch in tow.

I ate my food, and a spell of silence came over the table. After quickly finishing, however, the spell was broken, and Elsie asked,

"What happened? Why did you leave so… so… what's the word?"

"Abruptly?"

"Yeah! That's the word! I think…"

I sighed. "I'm sorry for leaving early. But… I'm not going to tell you why. Not today."

Then, I heard the footsteps of someone that I couldn't let my guard down with.

"So, it looks like you actually have friends, you weeb."

My guard came up once again, and I faced towards the object of my continued pain and two of her wannabe friends.

"Cassidy. What do you want?"

"You got some new friends? Where did they come from, a video game?"

'No, just from Hell.' I mentally chuckled, but my emotions were kept in check in front of her.

"Why don't you mind your own business? Care about yourself for once. Oh wait, you do that already, don't you Cassidy?" I went back to ignoring her, as she did for me.

In seconds, I was in the air, and the tall blond started to crush my windpipe.

'What… is happening?'

"What did you say, you asshole?" She said, crushing my windpipe even more by the second.

Despite my losing breath, her words triggered me and made me lose any composure I had.

"I said… leave." I grabbed her choking hands. "My family." I started to match her force on her arms, getting me some air for the final move. "ALONE!" Her nails scratched the edges of my neck, making blood start to appear on my shirt, but I was finally able to breathe, where the action that I had just done finally started to make itself aware to myself.

The girl who had bullied me and tried to choke me was on the floor. Eyes closed. I didn't know that she was unconscious, but I couldn't tell.

"Oh my god!" I ran over to tap her shoulder. "Cassidy, are you-"

Her eyes shot open, and in seconds, I was the person on the floor.

Then, she started to kick me. Again. Again. She kicked my leg until blood seeped out. She didn't stop.

"Why..." I closed my eyes as she continued to kick me. "Are you hitting me? What did I do to you?"

Then, the devils grabbed Cassidy by her arms and legs to try to stop her, but she kicked their shins and stomachs to move them away from her, and she went back to me to kick my bloody leg even harder, until everyone was looking at me, crying on the floor, being kicked while I was down.

The teachers eventually came along with the police officer. They both dragged Cassidy away from me, letting me breathe, and making me slow down my tears.

But, while I was on the verge of unconsciousness, I saw Elsie's headband go off, and I heard it go "Dorodorodorodoro" which could only mean one thing: a loose soul.

I groaned, and as my eyes slowly drooped, I thought, 'Shit. How am I supposed to make her fall in love with me?'

I passed out with those words in my mind.

When I woke up, I was in the nurse's office. It was 4 PM, based on the clock on the wall, which meant that school was over for at least an hour.

I looked at my leg. A part of Haqua's scarf was tied around the blood-soaked part of my leg.

The nurse noticed my awakening, so she stopped what she was doing and asked,

"Are you alright?"

I nodded, as I moved both of my legs to touch the floor, but my bleeding leg gave out.

The nurse helped me get up, and gave me crutches to walk with.

"Thank you."

"Now, when are you parents going to pick you up?"

"My parents… aren't able to. My dad's on a business trip."

She looked like she was going to ask about my mom, but then she remembered something.

"Okay. Then, how will get home?"

"My friends are planning on driving me."

"Who are your friends?"

"Haqua Hermann and Elsie Ima." I lied.

'They're probably gone now.'

She wrote it down and nodded. "Okay, you can leave now."

I thanked her one last time before using my crutches to go out of school.

"Speak of the devils," I muttered as I saw the two devils waiting for me. Then, when I realized they were still there, and I wasn't imagining it, I was confused.

They looked cautiously towards me as I stepped out of the building.

"Well, can you teleport us back home?" I asked.

Elsie lost her cautious look in favor of a sympathetic one.

"Okay. I'll try not to go too fast."

I smiled at her. "Thank you, Elsie. Thank you both..." Guilt flooded my mind as I remembered what I thought about them earlier that day.

Elsie lifted my chin, forcing them to look at my face.

"So, can we go now?" I quietly asked.

Elsie nodded as she carried my bridal style, and Haqua carried my crutches.

In seconds, we went into the air, past the birds, clouds, and other things. It was… exhilarating

But, as soon as we got into the air, we fell back down in front of my house. Elsie still carried me, as she slowly walked towards the front door, where Haqua unlocked the door.

Elsie sat me down at the dining table, where she sat on the opposite side, and Haqua sat between us.

There was a dead silence that infected the room as if souls could control a conversation.

"Firstly, we want to know why you started crying and ran off. Second, we need to know the history between you and Cassidy. Thirdly-"

"I'm sorry, but I can't answer the first question."

I looked at her, pleading her not to force me.

She bit her tongue, but she nodded.

"But, the history between Cassidy and I is pretty simple. She's a third-year jock, and I'm a third-year Otaku. We would have to fight at some point." I lied. "She would verbally bully me, but I mostly ignored her, and vise-versa. So, I was really surprised when she attacked me. Like, that has never happened to me."

I sighed. "The only thing that I said was she only cares about herself, so she probably cares about someone or something pretty deeply."

I clutched my head as my brain starts to work. "I can see how this will work. I… can see the beginning."

We woke up, much later this time, to go to school. I brought my Switch along so I could act like normal.

Before I walked into my classroom, Haqua asked, "Are you sure you don't want me to heal your leg?"

I shook my head. "Firstly, no normal human will have their leg healed in a day. Secondly, Haqua, I need her to feel guilty. If my leg is healed, she'll have no reason to apologize."

'She deserves feeling a little bit guilty after all the things she's done to me.'

Haqua reluctantly put my stuff on the desk and went back to her class.

I was sitting in the classroom, waiting for the bell to ring, when I heard someone walking towards me.

"Hey, Cassidy."

"How did you know? You didn't even stop looking at your tablet."

"It's a switch. And who else would come to talk to me?"

She grunted. "Fair point."

After insulting me, she sighed. "Look... about yesterday…"

"Next time you want to kick the crap out of me to release your frustrations, give me a heads up, okay?"

"Huh?" She was confused, the state I wanted her to be in.

I put away my switch and repeated myself. "Next time you want to kick the crap out of me to release your anger towards me and anyone else, give me a heads up, won't you?"

She lowered her face. "Look...I'm sorry."

With my emotions in check, I stoically said, "Well, sorry isn't going to help me walk. And it certainly won't excuse the fact that you nearly killed me."

Her eyes shot up in fear and confusion. "Wait… what?"

"Yeah. You had kicked through muscle, blood vessels, and a bunch of other things. If you had been left to kick me longer, a major blood vessel in my leg would have burst, and I could have bled out and died."

That was the truth. She was pretty close to breaking my femoral artery, which would have caused internal bleeding, which would result in my death. Her eyes lowered, and she looked like she was about to cry. The scenario I needed to create.

"To be honest, I don't even know why I defended you."

Her eyes shot up, this time with a slight amount of hope, even if the tears were still there. "Huh? Defended… me?"

I went back to playing on my Switch. "Yeah. I ended up talking to your coach, the Principal, and even your parents, and how they shouldn't punish you for what you did."

"... why?"

I paused SSBUD, and laid the switch on my desk.

"Why did you decide to choke me, and kick me while I was down, even when I was begging for you to stop?"

She was about to answer, but then the warning bell rang.

"I… can't answer that right now."

"Well, I am only going to answer when you tell me why."

She gritted her teeth, but I suggested, "How about to drive to my house? I'll tell you everything… if you want to know."

I heard a few people snickering, which she ignored. "Okay, fine. What time?"

"Around five."

"Fine. That works. Text me your address." I showed her my phone number, to which she put as a contact, and I sent her my address.

She walked away, presumably to her classroom, as I went back to my switch.

Then, shortly thereafter, the bell rang, and I repeated my daily routine.

Until third period.

The loudspeaker said, "Raja Kumar, to the principal's office. I repeat, Raja Kumar to the principal's office."

I got up from my STEM Design class, taking my crutches with me, and I stumbled all the way from the first floor to the office on the second. Luckily, my school had an elevator for people who needed to get from the first floor to the second floor but had a physical disability injury.

Then, after stumbling with my crutches, I finally reached the principal's office.

The principal and our counselor were in the room, along with Cassidy.

"Now, sit down here Raja." I carefully used my crutches to sit down on the plastic chair they had.

"Hey, Cassidy. What's up?" She seemed to be lightly crying, which I was confused by.

"Now, onto the issue at hand. Cassidy has done something very wrong, and should be punished for her actions."

Cassidy lowered her face, not looking at anyone.

"However, we also knew, through Raja's… persuasion, that you would face more consequences from your peers, so you won't be facing any major consequences from me."

She looked back up, then looking towards me with… joy? It was hard to tell.

The counselor came in. "However, both of you will have to write an apology email to each other, since both of you are at fault."

I internally groaned, but I nodded, and Cassidy, with tears of joy in her eyes, nodded as well.

'I mean, I did push her away from me, so I am at fault here, aren't I?'

"Okay, both of you," the principal wrote a pass. "Will get a pass. You can go back to your classes now."

"Thank you. Though, Cassidy? Can you help me carry my stuff?"

Without me having to explain anything, she happily picked up my heavy bag, with no indication that it was heavy for her, and her own, as we walked back to my classroom.

As we walked, I started to get bored with the silence between us, and said,

"Jeez. How do you people walk with crutches?"

She giggled, like a kid being told a good joke for the first time. "Well, you may not know this, Otaku, but people generally get injuries when they play a sport and overexert themselves, so it isn't that hard to walk when you learn how to walk with them. Here." She motioned for me to sit down, and to give her my crutches. I gave it to her, where she showed her walking with the crutches as fast as she was walking beforehand. "You have to balance your weight and your shoulders into the parts of your body that aren't injured and walk and practice from there."

She handed me my crutches, making me able to stand. "What's the point of doing a sport if all you get out of it is an injury and a paperweight for your troubles?"

She turned towards me with a serious look on her face. "It's not a paperweight. It is the symbol of your work," Then, she turned around, and said in a happy tone "And, at least when you are injured, your family and friends take time off to help you."

I chuckled sadly as my face fell. "Must be nice to have that kind of family."

I turned around, and the silence continued for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll explain later. Not now. Not here."

Then, I approached my third period, Cassidy giving me my things and separating from me.

"Thanks, Cassidy. And… I'm sorry."

Her eyebrow raised. "For what?"

"For… everything."

'I have to manipulate you into loving me, even though you don't. You never did, but you will have to.'

She clicked her tongue. "You don't have to say sorry. You haven't done anything."

My expression didn't change.

Then, she sighed. "Tell you what. If you are feeling so apologetic, we can ask each other anything. Okay?"

I looked at her with a bittersweet look.

'Why does she suddenly feel so sympathetic to me after so long? Didn't stop her years ago.'

"Okay, fine. We'll do that."

I continued my classes, with some asking where I was, but getting no answer. The rest of my day went as I wanted to: normal.

Then, I headed home with Elsie and Haqua.

'I… could get used to this.' I smiled as we went into the air, feeling the rush of cold air in my face.

Then, we landed, and we went inside the house.

"Do you think we should vanish?" Elsie asked.

"Nah. It doesn't matter. I'll just say the cover story."

"Oh."

For hours, we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

I heard a knock on the door, which I assumed to be Cassidy.

I got up with my crutches and opened the door.

"Hey, Raja."

She was in her sports uniform, with the number 23 on it.

"Hey." I turned around. "Come in." I stumbled with it to the living room and sat on the couch.

She walked in, dragging her feet against the floor.

Then, I lowered myself onto the chair that was near the fireplace.

I sighed. "Dang. It is really hard to walk with these."

She laughed. "Well, maybe if you took up a sport, you might be more athletic."

"I already have a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do."

"Sure you do." She rolled her eyes.

'What? I am."

"Hey, are you okay, Raja?" Elsie came in, concerned. She acted out the cover story.

"Wait, what is she doing here?" Cassidy raised her eyebrows.

"What is she doing here?" Elsie pretended to be mad.

"Yes, what is she doing here?" Haqua came in as well.

"Well," I looked at Elsie first. "Elsie and Haqua… they're my friends." I acted happily, or as happily as I could, which was hard, even though what I would say next would be true. "When I was injured yesterday, since my dad couldn't drive me home, they talked to their families in Japan, and asked if they could live with me for the time being to take care of me."

I smiled, slight joy, slight acting.

I faced towards Cassidy, who couldn't meet my gaze.

"Sorry, guys. Can you let me talk to Cassidy for a while? She just wants to talk."

Elsie and Haqua nodded, although they were reluctant nods.

"Thanks." I smiled at them, to which they smiled back, and promptly went upstairs.

"Anyway, do you want me to talk first, or do you?"

She muttered. "...why?"

I raised my eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Why… are you acting so nice?"

"Asking the hard questions first, huh?" I chuckled. "Well, it's complicated."

As she looked at me, I said. "I guess, I didn't have a reason to." I shrugged.

She looked at me, confused. "What, you think I'm a mean person? That I wasn't going to defend you for the sake of being nice?"

She shook her head.

I sighed, looking up towards the ceiling. "Fine. I didn't want you to end up in trouble. Because… no matter what… you shouldn't have to face being punished by the same family that you idolize."

She looked at me with concerned eyes as my gaze lowered to hers.

"Though, enough about what I think." I raised a wall, and stoically said,l "Why did you hurt me, even when I was begging for you to stop?"

"You…" She sighed. "The thing is, I have anger issues. I… am sorry. I usually picked on you to release stress, and I guess I had too much of it."

"Is that it?"

She didn't respond. So I did.

"Anger issues, I can get that. What I don't get is how just anger can cause you to try to choke me to death and kick me nearly to my death. There has to be more, Cassidy."

She didn't respond.

I sighed, realizing that I had gone too far. "Okay, I'm sorry. You don't-"

"Shut up and let me answer, you idiot."

I shut up. Then she apologized again.

"Look. Don't tell this to anyone. Not to your family. Not to anyone."

She looked… scared. I nodded, without any hesitation.

"The thing is, I was having a hard time that week."

I nearly rolled my eyes, but I remembered that she was deadly serious, so I continued to listen

"My older sister, Leslie… she committed suicide."

I bit the inside of my cheek and my tongue.

"I… had no idea that she was going through that. I was on my phone, scrolling through some useless things on my phone, but when my Dad called for me to check up on my sister, I… found her… surrounded by pill bottles. I called an ambulance, and for the past few days, I didn't even know she was alive. Until last night. After-"

I continued to bite my tongue to prevent myself from crying, which she noticed.

"Raja? What's wrong?"

Tears flowed from my eyes, to which I immediately tried to cover.

"Raja?" I felt cold hands touch mine. "Are you okay?

I ripped my hands away from her, trying to dry my own eyes.

"Why-"

I raised my hand. "No. Don't ask me about it."

"But-"

"No. We can talk about other things. Not this. I'm not going to become a joke of the school."

"You aren't-"

I looked at her with anger. "And how can I trust you not to tell anyone? What is the value of your words that would make me sure that you won't tell anyone? You weren't friends with me. Hell, before now, we rarely talked. So what is your guarantee that you won't backstab me. You did that before."

"Well…" She temporarily seemed shocked by my outburst, but then lowered her eyes and muttered, with a slight blush, "I didn't tell anyone that I was coming here." She muttered.

I raised my eyebrow. "What?"

"Yeah. I drove to practice, then drove here. My friends didn't bother. My parents still think I am at practice."

"Why are you here then? Go be with your sister. If you want to talk to me, come another time when your sister is more stable."

She nodded. "Okay, I'll come next week." She said, with a sudden interest in my life. When she walked to the door, she turned around. "Anyway, thanks for letting me over. I know you don't have a lot of trust in me, especially considering what I've done to you, so... thanks."

"Yeah. Give your sister my regards. I think that she would need you to be in her life. Make sure you don't leave her alone, okay? Otherwise, you're going to regret it for the rest of your life." I muttered the last sentence

She looked confused but nodded regardless. "Thanks, Raja. Bye."

I waved back at her, with a half-real smile on my face.

As soon as her car pulled out of the driveway, Haqua and Elsie descended the stairs.

"So, I think Leslie may also have a loose soul in her."

"Huh? How do you know that, Raja?" Haqua said.

"Well, you said how loose souls control the hearts of young girls to fill them with negative thoughts so the devils could be reborn, right?"

I turned towards them, to which they nodded.

"Well, if that's the case, there is a strong likelihood that Leslie could also have a loose soul. I'll probably have to find a way to make her fall in love with me."

"How can you possibly say that with no emotion or remorse?" The purple devil spitefully said.

That pissed me off. "You think that I genuinely enjoy this? Taking away these girl's first chance to choose who they love? Taking advantage of all these girls? Forcing them to like me because if they don't, they will die, along with the world? Forcing them to lower themselves to my level and actually like a person like me? No." I stared Haqua down. "I hate taking away that choice from them. I'll live alone for the rest of my life. I'm not dragging any of those girls into that." I used my crutches to go upstairs but turned towards them one last time. "I'm not… dragging you two into that."

I laid on my bed, ignoring Elsie and Haqua calling for me.

I wrapped myself under the blanket of my bed as I covered myself from the world around me.

'Niha. Why can't you be here? You were always good at dealing with people and getting me out of trouble.' I mentally slapped myself. 'It's my fault she's gone.'

Then, I heard the door open.

I didn't turn over, but I knew who it was.

Then, she spoke.

"Raja. I know what you are feeling. The pressure of the entire world be put on your shoulders, and no one to guide you, and you feel like anyone else would be a better person for the job." She walked closer to the bed. "You feel like you're a thief, and better people are there, you just happened to get lucky, or unlucky, I guess."

Then, I turned around to Elsie.

She was in her night suit, a cute pink and purple onesy that included her skull headband.

She lifted the covers and wiggled herself right next to me.

"Uh, Elsie?"

She wrapped her slender arms around me, encapsulating me in her embrace.

"It's okay. You can cry with me. I'll be here."

I gently wrapped my arms around her, where I silently cried through the night, releasing a bit so the whole dam didn't break.

After nearly an hour, the tears slowed, and I held Elsie's shoulders under the covers, pushing me away from her hug.

"Thank you, Elsie. That… means a lot."

She was on her way to leave me for the night, but I selfishly wanted her to stay.

"Please… don't go." I whimpered to the darkness.

The darkness responded, and I felt a figure touching me, arms wrapped around me, as I finally slept with a smile on my face for the first time.

**And that is the second chapter. Now, if you guys liked it, comment on what you liked about it, and follow/subscribe to the story, since this is just the second chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys. Now, this is going to probably be close to the end of Cassidy's Arc, since I wanted to get to the side plot/mystery that will happen. Now, in the meantime, enjoy the third chapter of The World A King Only Knows.**

_Unknown amount of time ago._

_I remember feeling pain, guilt, and sadness, all at the same time._

_Beforehand, I just felt boredom mixed in with all those emotions._

_I was stood up at the dance, so as soon as I got home, I played Super Smash Bros Ultimate, trying to get that completionist route by getting every character in the game, which was, at the time, 74. _

_Then, my sister came into the house, crying while running away to her room._

'_What was that about?' I thought as her crying disappeared._

_I continued playing games, but, eventually, I finished it. _

_After I had finished the game, I started to remember what happened._

'_I should probably check on her.'_

_I walked up the stairs, yelling out, "Hey Niha! What happened?"_

_No response._

"_Niha? What happened?" I asked again in a much softer voice._

_No response._

_I was confused since I no longer heard any crying. It was deathly silent. _

"_Hey, Niha!" I opened the door to her bedroom, only to step back in horror as I saw what was in front of me._

I woke up in fear, only to see an angel.

Or rather, a devil.

Elsie's eyes were shut, and her light snoring soothed my real-life fears and nightmares that I lived through again.

'This is just a dream. No chance that this is real.'

I tried slapping myself, thinking I was asleep. I wasn't.

"OW!"

'Never mind. Looks like a girl decided to sleep with me.' I laughed at myself mentally before realizing the pain.

Elsie's eyes fluttered open.

"What…"

Her eyes widened as she saw the red mark that was slashed across my face.

Her arms reached over to my face in concern, as she said,

"What happened?!"

She realized that she shared the same bed as I did, and used her scarf to push me against the windows as she went against the wall.

"WHY AM I IN YOUR BED?!" She confusedly screamed.

"Um…" The screaming triggered my speechlessness, so I waited for her to remember.

Then, the memory hit her, and she fell, stomach against the floor.

"I'm so sorry, Raja. I… I…"

Then, she ended up crying, guarding her face as tears flowed away from her eyes and onto the carpet.

Ignoring my pain, and my injuries, I crawled over the bed, falling on the carpet, and brought her face to my shoulder.

'It's my fault, not yours.'

She continued to cry, but I held onto her for what felt like hours.

Eventually, however, her crying stopped, as I brought her face away from my shoulder.

"Hey. Sorry, I accidentally hit myself. Sorry for waking you up." A half-truth, I decided to say.

"But… you're injured! Despite your pain, you went to comfort me! Why?!"

I sighed. "It doesn't matter to me. You're more important than my pain right now." That was the truth. At least, it was what I felt.

"Though, can you help me… get up?" My injury suddenly became less bearable, and I hissed through the pain.

She gasped. "Oh! Yeah!"

Bridal style, she carried me, balancing my right foot on the floor. I hissed, which she heard.

"Sorry!" She squeaked.

She balanced it on my left leg, which got me to stabilize.

"Thanks, Elsie. Though, can you leave now? I need to get changed."

She shook her head.

'Oh crap. Is she going to be one of those yandere characters?' I shuddered.

She noticed. "Are you okay? I wanted to change you since you were injured and all…" The words that she was going to say faded.

I mentally slapped myself. 'It's official. I'm the world's biggest idiot.'

"Oh. Okay, I guess. Can you help me?"

She nodded and grabbed a pair of socks, a shirt, and a pair of jeans. She awkwardly pulled my pajamas off my body and helped me slip on my jeans and shirt.

I sighed, not realizing I was holding my breath. "Thanks, Elsie. You've… done more for me than most people have done, so, from the bottom of my heart, thank you." I looked at her with my most grateful eyes, one she lightly smiled to.

"Thank you for letting me help you, and for comforting me when I was crying." She looked at me with equally grateful eyes.

We smiled at each other. A new feeling ignited in me, and made me step forward.

She took a step.

Inches away from her, I felt her warm breath against my face, and her blush was something I could feel.

'Should I…'

Then, seconds later, Haqua said, "HEY ELSIE, WHERE ARE-"

As she saw the proximity I was from Elsie, Haqua shrieked.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ELSIE?!" She raised her scythe and plunged me into my monitor, snapping it in half, along with my build.

I went through two walls, and stopped on a dead tree with sharp branches, impaling my legs, and coming close to slicing my heart in two. Blood spilled out my veins, covering the ground with blood.

As I began to lose consciousness, I thought,

'I don't suppose they have Crazy/Shining Diamond, do they?'

Two hours later

Elsie, Haqua, and I were at school. Nothing different. Normal.

I played on my Switch in seventh period, much to the dismay of my Spanish teacher, waiting for the inevitable.

At the end, I left for the back of the school, only to get a text on my phone from an unknown number.

'Meet me in the front. I'll drive you. From, Cassidy.'

I groaned, but it was expected, so I went across the school to go with Cassidy.

I stopped in the front, where I saw a silver BMW parked.

'Oh right. Everyone is rich here.'

I saw Cassidy through the car's window, so I knocked.

I opened the door and went inside her car.

"Hey," I said

"Hey, Raja."

Seconds afterward, she took off, whipping out of the school.

"Woah!" I yelped. "What the hell are you doing?! Are you trying to kill us?!"

"Shut up." Her voice was quiet, but I could hear her annoyance.

I complied.

As she drove towards the freeway, she said,

"Don't distract me while I'm driving, or I will end up killing you here, understand?"

She was angry, I could tell, but not just at me.

"Okay," I whispered.

She looked forward, and said,

"Sorry. But no distractions."

I nodded.

A few minutes of silence passed between us.

After a little bit of time, I asked,

"Why are you driving me?"

"Because…" She paused. "I wanted to ask you about yesterday."

I raised my eyebrow. "Is this one of those times where your friends dare you to prank me for something?"

She sighed. "That was one time."

"If someone asked you to be their boyfriend, they would go on multiple dates, and said they had a crush on you after no one seemed to even talk to you, then you got humiliated by them, how do you think you would feel? Happy?"

Her back straightened."That was a long time ago."

"That was two years ago." Anger seethed from me.

She stayed silent, as my words sunk in. She parked in the driveway of my house, where she apologized.

"Sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it. Why are you suddenly so concerned for me, when you had treated me like garbage for the longest time?"

"Because…" She stammered, before lowering her head. "I like you."

My brain stopped. "What?"

"That…started as a prank. But, I do like you. Now, even."

'No way she is telling the truth.' My fists tightened, but I calmly said,

"Really? Then why did you stand me up? Why did your friends tell me it was a prank?"

"Originally, it was going to be a prank, but as I dated you, I… started to like you a lot. My friends said that dating you would be funny, since bullying you was what everyone did, and it would help a guy I like to ask me on a date because he was popular."

That made me even more pissed at her. But, I calmed myself down, and waited for her to finish.

"But every time you came up to me, you always seemed happy, despite what everyone told to you. I remember that someone told you to kill yourself because you snitched on someone. But you said, "Nah. I'd prefer to live. What am I going to do when I'm dead?"" She chuckled as memories came back to her, but I could only feel sadness.

"Despite that, you always picked yourself right back up. You cared about people more than you cared about yourself. Especially me. When I had trouble with a test, you helped me, and I got a higher score than you did. When we went to a city fair, you won me a giant stuffed animal, a dinosaur to help me get happier after I had told you that I was sad."

'I… did those things?' I felt more conflicted than before, now confused. 'Well, everything did change after Mom left.'

"But, after it was over, on the day of the dance, the guy that I like stood me up."

'Serves you right.' I mentally said, but then guilt washed upon me.

"Even after all the shit I pulled on you, you still cared for me, even if you didn't like me like I did. Standing up for me, letting me stay on the Soccer team. That's not an asshole move. That's a person who cares about everyone, despite what they have done."

My expression was grim. "Yeah, I guess." I used my crutches to walk inside, Cassidy right behind me.

I fumbled with the keys, trying to unlock the door.

"Hand it over." I handed the keys to her, to which she found the front door key and unlocked the door.

"Thanks," I said to the blonde. I used my crutches to walk to my chair, a black sofa chair, where Cassidy sat next to me in the empty blue chair.

I winced, as memories flooded into my brain when she sat in the chair. But I kept myself under control.

"Anyways, do you genuinely still like me?" I asked.

"Hmm. Well...yeah." She nodded, although it was reluctant.

"Yeah?" I repeated.

"I… don't know. I've just remembered my feelings for you, so I need time before… you know."

I sighed. "Yeah, I know. I need some time too. But… is it okay if… we can dance? Finish what we started?"

'If we can finish that, you will be free of me. You'll forget everything. And… that's how it should be.'

Her eyebrow was raised, but she nodded, and she stood up.

"What about you?" She asked, pointing to my leg.

I balanced my weight on my left leg, standing up without my crutches.

"I'll be fine." I put my hands on her, one on her shoulder and one against her back. "Alexa! Play Waltz piano music."

Alexa started playing slow piano, one where Cassidy and I swayed along to.

'Up close, she looks… really pretty.' I looked at her sparkling ocean blue eyes, and she looked into my dull brown ones. We danced until the music stopped. We had stopped dancing, but we hadn't let go of each other. We were inches away, but none of us moved.

But, then she moved forward. Then I did, following her steps. I looked at her eyes, asking her permission, and she nodded.

'I'm sorry, Cassidy.' I closed the gap between us and touched her lips against mine. Her lips tasted of strawberries and oranges, one that I had never tasted before.

Then, I saw the soul escape from her, to which Elsie captured it and yelled out, "Loose soul in custody!" Cassidy, along with her car, disappeared from sight.

The next day.

It was a Friday, so that meant that every teacher was trying to cram all the tests on the last day of the week.

Luckily, it wasn't an issue, and I easily finished the tests with high scores.

But, after all that, my free period started.

At that time, someone unexpected approached me.

I had finished my homework, so I was playing on my Switch, where I heard footsteps.

"Hey. Otaku."

I looked up. A blonde, blue eyed girl was standing in front of me.

"Hey, Cassidy. Do you still have that plush that I won you from the carnival?"

"Huh?"

"Remember that time when we were fake dating, and-"

"Yeah." She looked slightly guilty, but she said, "I do have it."

I grunted, almost like I was laughing, but it covered the pain I felt.

"Anyways, what do you want?" I went back to playing on my Switch.

"Uh…" She stammered. "Can you help me with…"

"With what?" I started to get impatient. "Spit it out."

"Shut up." Her normal voice came back.

She took a breath.

"Can you tutor me?"

My impatience evaporated. "Okay, sure." I put my Switch back in my backpack, and looked directly at her confused face.

"Wait, that easily?"

"I've tutored you before. If you pay me, I'll tutor you again."

She raised her eyebrow, to which I sighed.

"It's a joke. Just make sure you pay attention, and actually get an A." I laid out my studying materials, and prepared myself mentally.

"Oh." She lowered her eyebrow, and sighed.

"Here." I patted the seat next to me. "Sit here."

She complied.

"What do you need help with?"

"Um… everything?" She smiled sheepishly.

I groaned. "Fine. Though, I will only tutor you if you listen and get an A in everything"

She nodded.

"Okay, let's start on your hardest class. Let me guess, Physics?"

She looked confused, but nodded.

"Okay. Then, here." I handed her my notes on Physics. "Read up on that, and I'll test you tomorrow on my free period.

Cassidy nodded, and took my notes.

Then, she said something that I hadn't heard from her for years.

"Thank you."

**And that was the third chapter. It's not the end of Cassidy's importance to the story, but the next chapter will lead to finding out Raja's past. Anyways, see you guys in the next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, and here's the fourth chapter of The World a King Only Knows. Now, this takes place on the same day as the previous chapter, but later on that day. Also, yeah, I might make Elsie and Haqua a little OOC, because it will make their characters more, for lack of a better term, serious. Anyways, here is the fourth chapter of The World a King Only Knows.**

Falling in style with Elsie carrying me… again, she released me from her grip, as we had landed near the traffic lights, about 20 minutes before the bus would come to drop the rest of the high schoolers off.

'Dang. I don't miss going on the bus.'

Walking from the intersection that led to my neighborhood to my house, Elsie eventually asked,

"So, what are you going to do to make all the girls fall in love with you, Raja?"

Elsie had her finger right below her lips, as if she were thinking.

"Well, I don't know, but what I do know is that it won't be as easy as Cassidy is. I'll probably be injured again, so expect-"

While we were in sight distance from the door, an unexpected person appeared.

My dad.

He opened the door for us, and he looked surprised as the girls came along with me to him.

I raised my eyebrow, but I casually said,

"Hey Dad. What's up?"

I came inside, along with Elsie and Haqua.

"Oh? So you have got some new chica friends?"

My dad didn't know Spanish, but he at least knew a few words. Niha used to be an avid Spanish speaker, which is how my Dad knew Spanish at all.

I cringed at the pronunciation of chica, but I said,

"Well, yeah."

Despite being the first time I had seen him in over a year, let alone the first time I had talked to him in years, it felt almost normal to talk to him.

_My dad, years ago, would usually say, "One of these days, with your skills, I bet all the chicas out there will want to be with you."_

_I would usually just nod my head and smile, since I didn't really think I would ever get a human being to like me, let alone a girl, but I didn't want my dad to know my thoughts._

"Though, these guys needed a place to live, since they are temporarily transferring to school for an exchange student program. The school asked me to have them live with me for the time being, since they are new students and since they know I am the most responsible student there."

'And because of… what happened.' Those were the unspoken lines, lines that my father somehow knew.

His face became grim.

"I see." His face slightly brightened. "Well, might as well have your girlfriends come in." He turned around from the door, moving out of the doorway.

As I entered, and my dad's words sunk in, I said, "Dad, they're not my girlfriends." I started to get embarrassed, a feat only reserved for my dad currently.

Not looking at me, or the girls, he said,

"Well, regardless, you girls can stay as long as you want."

The girls nodded.

"So, Dad, you want me to cook, or are you-"

"I'll cook, son. Focus on your work." He interrupted me.

I hadn't heard him say that in over two years. It felt… nostalgic to hear him.

Despite that, no liquid left from my eyes.

"Okay. I'll be upstairs if you need me, Dad."

"Okay, Raja. Do your work."

The girls, for some reason, followed me into my room.

I sat in my swivel chair, and turned towards the she-devils in my room.

They carried a look of surprise in their eyes, particularly looking at my setup.

"What?"

Elsie asked. "Um, why is there only one television in your room?

My eyebrow raised. "You mean a monitor?"

"What's the difference, human?" Haqua said rather arrogantly.

"Firstly, this monitor," I pointed to the monitor behind me, "Is called the Acer Predator XB273K. It's a pretty expensive monitor nowadays, costing around 1000 dollars, or around 100,000 yen. TVs of similar specs would cost in the 5000 dollar range, or 500,000 yen."

They looked dumbfounded.

"How has the world changed so much in only 15 years?"

I shrugged. "That's technology for you. This guy, Keima, had a PSP, right?"

They nodded.

"Wow. That was relevant decades ago. You guys need to learn modern technology."

Then, Elsie looked with wide eyes.

"Hey, speaking of which, can we go to this concert today?"

She showed something from her phone.

'Speaking of which? How does that have anything to do with technology?'

"I booked three tickets! Can you ask your Dad if we can go there?"

I groaned. 'What Concert? I need to do homework. Also, why so last minute?"

"What? Why are you just telling me now?"

"Um…" She stuttered out. "I wanted it to be a… surprise?"

I sighed, exasperated. "Fine, I'll ask."

"But first…" I pushed them out of the door. "I have to do my homework."

The girls looked towards me, dumbfounded. "Look, I need time to do my work before I can think about who else I need to make out with. Unless one of you two have loose souls in you, leave me alone."

I slammed the door a little too hard on their faces, which, seconds later, I felt guilty about.

I opened the door, and the girls' faces still were shocked into place.

I sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry. But, just give me an hour to do my work. I'll call you in afterwards."

Elsie seemed… confused. Haqua meanwhile, smiled at me.

"Raja, there's no apology required."

I sunk down further. "Yeah, there is. I'm… not that considerate sometimes. I know that."

Elsie jumped on top of me.

I collided with the floor, with Elsie on top of me.

"No! Why do you think that?! You've done so much for us!"

I froze in place as I realized that my hands were on her chest… and I instantly backed away.

I slid myself towards the edge of my bed frame, trying to calm myself down from what just happened.

Elsie seemed close to crying as I backed away.

'Huh?'

"I… you're so kind to me… to us… despite what we did to you. We… hit you… let someone else injure you… we… we..."

Elsie bursted into tears, laying against the floor to cover her tears.

Haqua froze, not able to comfort her friend of all people.

"Hey, Elsie…" I crawled over to her. "It's fine."

I placed her head on my shoulder, with my lips against her ear.

"Hey, it's fine." I whispered in her ear, glaring at Haqua, which she sunk back, not willing to look me with my disappointed eyes. Elsie was still crying.

"You guys are important to me." My eyes softened. "Of course I'm going to help you. I'd be an asshole if I didn't help you guys."

'The last thing I'd want to be is an asshole, especially to these guys. Especially… after everything.'

"But… I need to do my work." She still cried against my shoulder. Releasing my time to be alone, I relented.

"You guys can work here if you'd want."

Elsie then slowed her tears. With glossy eyes, she said,

"You really mean it?"

Her voice was like glass, light and fragile.

"Yeah." I responded. I sounded like I had shards of glass stuck in my throat.

Haqua cleared her throat, which made me aware of the close proximity I held with Elsie.

I backed away, after sharing a short hug with Elsie.

I stood up, sitting on my bed, which would turn into a mess shortly after.

I wasn't super organized.

Elsie decided to sit next to me, wanting my help.

"Hey, Haqua." She seemed out of it, until I spoke to her, to which she snapped to my voice.

"You need anything? Any help with work?"

"Ah… no thank you." Her eyes lowered, as if she were hiding tears. "I can be able to do it myself."

She meekly left, leaving me… confused.

'No. She'll… be fine. I hope.'

I tried doing my work, but it was hard for me to concentrate as my concern for aqua… Haqua grew.

7 PM

My Dad ended up calling me down for dinner, as well as my "girlfriends".

To quote an old meme, 'My Dad doesn't cook very often, but when he did, he went all out.'

That wasn't a lie. My Dad made everything, from Steak and Grilled Vegetables, to Mini Tacos, to Soups, to Ramen, and everything in between.

Elsie looked with joy, but seemed to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of dishes.

Haqua, meanwhile, looked in… disgust? Well, it was probably more complex than that. She probably didn't even know if she could eat everything.

Well, it turned out they did eat everything, and after the first initial bite, they ate everything on the table, excluding the plates and utensils.

"Uh, Dad, can Elsie, Haqua and I go to this concert?"

Elsie had given me her phone, and I pulled up the tickets to show my Dad.

But, loading the tickets was abominably slow.

'Well, her birthday is coming up soon. Maybe I'll get her a new phone as a surprise present. Probably a Samsung s10 plus. That will probably be fast enough.'

Eventually, it loaded, and I got to see the address of the place, and the concert it was for.

Just ice. The artist who I had heard a few songs of, and I had a few of her songs on my playlist.

'Ah, so that's why Elsie bought the tickets.'

When it was loaded, having the ticket on the screen, I gave her phone to dad.

His lips formed a thin line, with his eyes reflecting his uncertainty.

"Hmm…"

Suddenly, he relaxed his expression.

"Sure, why not?"

"Huh?"

"You've gotten good grades, and you have grown from where you were back then. You deserve to relax a little bit. As long as all three of you want to go, I'll drive you."

"No, dad, it's fine. Elsie and Haqua have their own car."

He looked over at the girls, as if he were trying to look inside them for their intentions. I wasn't entirely sure why, but the girls looked back towards my dad with determined eyes.

They read, 'We will keep him safe.'

A small smile appeared on my father's face.

He looked towards me with eyes of… joy? I wasn't sure if that was it. It felt… bittersweet. But I reciprocate his smile on my face.

"Well, just make sure you three message me when it will end."

He turned around, likely going back to work. It was a situation that formed out of chaos, me focusing on my work, and helping out my dad when he needed it, and he focused on his work, and trying to support me physically.

I nodded.

"Okay, let's go!" Elsie exclaimed.

I followed him, as well as Elsie and Haqua, through the garage.

Elsie seemed to be giddy, jumping up and down over the roadway of our house, and Haqua held a small smile, one that I could share.

We flew, Haqua volunteering to carry me this time, into the sky.

As we flew, using her scarf as a GPS of sorts, one thought stayed in my mind,

'This might be fun. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?'

**And that's the fourth chapter. Let's just say everything possibly bad could happen to Raja at this time, will. Anyways, if you liked it, like it, tell me what you thought about it, and I will see you guys next time.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Welp, here's the next chapter of The World A King Only Knows. This is going to be pretty long, probably. I don't know, I haven't checked this before releasing it. Anyways, let's get into the next chapter, where Raja is going to be quite the Playboy. Ironically, he ends up being worse off with it. But, before I spoil everything, let's get into the chapter.**

I went to work, despite the horrible time I had sleeping. I started the class the same way my sister always did, technique.

"So everyone, here we are going to do a snap leg kick. You have to lift up your knee, otherwise, you won't be able to kick above your belt! Lift up your knee, bent, straighten out your leg, and say, HIYAAH!"

"So everybody, one!"

Everyone said, "Hiyahh!"

"Come on, bring more enthusiasm into it! Bring more power into it! I'm talking louder than all of you!"

"TWO!"

"HIYAAH!" A few scattered people said.

"That's more like it! Three!"

"HIYAAH!" Everyone said.

"That's it! Good. Now, switch your feet!"

Everyone said a quiet, "Hiyahh."

"Come on everyone! No being sleepy!" I said, rather hypocritically of me.

"Switch your feet again!"

"Hiyahh!"

"Again, Jump-change!"

"HIYAHH!"

"Now that's more like it! Good job everyone! Now, let's do partner stretches! Everyone pair up!" Within seconds, everyone had a partner.

"The person closest to the mirror is stretching first, and the person behind them is going to push them down." The people closest to the mirror sat down, with their legs wide apart, as if they were doing a split. The people behind their partners look excited, so I said,

"Look, you aren't trying to break your partner. This is a stretching exercise. So make sure you press their lower back, and listen to your partners if they don't want to go any further. With that said, make sure your partner isn't relaxing, otherwise, you will have to do 20 pushups."

Everyone said, "Yes sir!" And stretched.

I looked at the lobby, and the multiple parents looking happily at me straightening out their kids. I smiled back, but I internal groaned with how much I had to replace my sister's role in the Dojo.

Then, I noticed someone familiar outside in the lobby of my Dojo. She was talking to my Martial Artist Teacher, for some reason, and I became suspicious when my teacher called me into the lobby.

"Everyone, when you are done, switch with your partner, and, once you are all done, practice your curriculum! If you need help with the ITF forms, then ask me for help!"

Everyone said, "Yes Sir!"

I smiled, even as I went to my teacher.

"Hello Sir. What did you need me for?"

"Yes, uh, Raja, can you help this lady? She seems to know you."

I looked at the singer, as if the memories of her weren't even in my mind.

"Uh, alright sir, I'll talk to her. Should I continue on with the class or-"

"No, it's alright. Just make sure you go back into class soon, since you have to take your own class afterwards."

"Yes sir." I said.

My teacher went to the mats, and everyone was still doing their stretches.

"Alright everyone! Reach over to that left side." He got into his sitting split, and reached over to his right side, mirroring the kids.

"Count to ten, go!"

Then, I focused on the person in front of me, Just Ice.

She wore rather simple clothing, with a single slim full sleeved shirt that she wore, black in color, and with shorts that were… well, short.

"Anyways, how are you doing after yesterday?" I asked the artist.

She seemed dumbfounded. "Why are you asking me that? Aren't you the person that got shot? Also, what happened to the bullet wounds?!"

"What are you talking about?" I nervously said, before quietly whispering to her.

"Why are you saying that out loud? Do you want my teacher to deal with a lawsuit?"

She scoffed. "Of course he should after-"

I held my hand in front of her. "I chose to come here, because I enjoy Tae Kwon Do. My bullet wounds are painful, but they are bearable. I don't feel pain in the same way everyone else does."

She quieted down, and everyone just thought she was crazy. Thankfully, no one had talked to me about the incident yesterday yet.

"Anyways, I'm sorry for yelling at you last night." I whispered back at her. "I wanted you to get the cops to catch the guy who shot me three times, and tried to kill you and my friends."

"That doesn't explain-"

"I'm sorry to ask this, but why have you come here, to my job? You can talk to me outside of work if you would like, but currently, unless you have something to tell me, or you want to join the Dojo, sorry, but I cannot be of any help to you right now."

I started walking back from the desk to the mats, but she said, "Wait."

I look towards her.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"I… wanted to thank you, and… ask you a question."

"Ooh. You can only do one of those things. If you want to ask me, and not my teacher something, then you'll have to come to me after hours."

She seemed confused, and I sighed.

"What I mean is that, after 2:30, I'm free. You can talk to me then, but not now. You also probably need to go right now, because eventually, their will be a paparazzi outside this school."

"Oh. Right." She nodded, and left.

'Well, that's not too hard. I hope that was the hardest thing I had to-'

"Hey, Raja!" Another girl said my name.

'Crap.'

I turned towards Cassidy, who seemed to be more cheery than usual, and… Leslie. Her sister that nearly committed suicide earlier that week.

"Hey guys. What's up?"

"Wow, you weren't lying that you were a Tae Kwon Do Teacher?" Cassidy said

"Who would lie about that, of all things?" I asked.

'Also, how much does she remember of us talking?'

"I don't know? Maybe you wanted to sound cool in a dorky way."

I rolled my eyes, but then focused on Leslie.

"Anyway, you guys in here for some reason, or what?"

"Well, my mom's shopping at Mom's organic market right now, and we spotted the dojo here, so we wanted to check it out."

"Okay, but are you guys planning on joining the school on a trial?"

"Eh, not me. I already have a dozen other sports to do." Cassidy said.

Leslie didn't even look up during the entire conversation.

"What about you, Leslie?"

"Huh?"

She looked up at me, with such broken eyes, hopeless eyes. Ones I knew all too well.

"Well, do you want to join?"

"Wow. I didn't think you were straight." Cassidy laughed at her own joke, but I remained serious.

"Leslie? Do you want to join?"

She looked… indifferent. As if she didn't care whether she existed or not. I knew what that felt like, but I kept that to myself.

"Well, here, if you want to sign up, you should get your Mom or Dad here. If you want more information, you guys are going to have to come later to talk with my Master and I after class. Maybe 2:30."

"Didn't think you were-"

"Don't. Say. Another. Word. Cassidy." I knew where it was going, so I stopped her.

She looked genuinely shocked, so Leslie, now looking up, said,

"We'll find out. Thanks Raja." She said it rather softly, like a breeze of wind.

"Eh, no problem. See you guys."

They left, leaving just enough time for me to prepare for my class.

First was weapons. I had many different ones, from Kamas to a bow staff and nunchucks.

Not those sort of nunchucks for the Wii, if anyone remembered what the Wii or Wii u was like, like real, actual nunchucks.

I had my form, Wings of Freedom, which I took from my inspiration from Attack on Titan.

Weapons went quickly, and so did the rest of the classes I had to take.

And before I knew it, it was 2:30.

Then, the singer blew through the doors.

She sat down against the window, where several chairs resided. I sat next to her, and she asked me,

"What did you mean that you were expendable?"

I smiled softly. "I'm just a normal human being. Best case scenario, I'll become a doctor or a therapist. But you… whether or not you try, you influence millions of people worldwide. If you were to die, dozens of lives would be lost." She was about to speak, but I raised my hand again.

"You influenced me, as well."

She looked concerned, but listened.

Then, memories came in. "My sister and I would always listen to your tracks, like Stay High and Eastside. She and I loved your music. Granted, Stay High itself was pretty weird for us to listen to, but I guess we were mature kids."

I slightly chuckled under my breath, but soon, tears came into my eyes.

I wiped them off quickly, but she noticed.

"Hey, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I lied.

"Anyways, does that answer your question?"

"Uh… yeah. Though, one more thing."

"Yeah, okay. What else?"

"Can I join?"

I didn't register that at first.

"Uh, can you say that again?"

"Can I join? The Karate school."

I sighed. "It's all forms of Martial Arts, not just Karate." I facepalmed myself.

"Why do you want to join?" I peeked through my hands.

"Well, when everyone else was running away, you noticed that there was one of my guards acting suspiciously. Only you noticed. And only you stepped in to save me."

"Um, yeah, thank you, but-"

"So, I want to learn to become brave, like you were."

"I mean, thanks, but…"

Then, my teacher came, noticing my expression.

"Raja? Is there a problem?"

"Uh, no sir, it's just-"

"I wanted to join your school. Your student recommended this place to me, and I wanted to try it out."

"Well, why didn't you say so?!" He walked behind his desk, collecting his promotional papers.

"Now, here's our rate for the first two weeks. For 50 dollars, you can get a free uniform, and come every day. After that, it's just 200 dollars a month for unlimited classes."

"Alright then, here's my card." The artist took a credit card out of her purse, and gave it to my teacher. She had at least 5 different cards in her purse.

'Sir, as much as I respect you, please know when you need to act like a businessman and act like a teacher.'

I internally sighed.

'Well, whatever. She has a loose soul inside her, so at least I can kiss her before the two weeks are up.'

"Hey, Raja!"

'Again?'

I turned towards the door, and saw Cassidy, Leslie, and their mother.

"Yeah. Hey guys. So, do you have a final decision? Do you want to join?"

"Um, I'm not sure." Their mother said.

Then, my teacher's eyes lit up, and he walked over.

"Hello there! Now, do you want to join the school?"

"Wait, who's that?" Leslie looked over at the artist.

"Um… well…" I had a hard time coming up with an excuse for her.

"She's… a friend of mine…"

"I'm Just Ice." She deadpanned.

"Wait, what?!" Cassidy and Leslie screeched.

I covered my ears. "Jeez, calm down."

That made them even more overactive.

"What are you doing here, of all places?!"

'She didn't even question her legitimacy. Well, I guess not everyone is going to question it, I guess, since not a lot of people would really claim that.'

"Well, I've decided to join, since this dude…"

She put me in a headlock, right against her shoulder.

"Saved my life."

"Wait, what?!" They screeched again.

'Well, looks like I've got some explaining to do.'

**And that's the fifth chapter. Now, the Just Ice character is going to be a fusion of multiple different artists, so expect to find real songs done by multiple different artists from Raja. Anyways, see you in the next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, and here is the sixth chapter of The World a King Only Knows. This time, flashing back to the concert. Now, I took time to rewatch the series for the third time, because I have a lot more time, and because I wanted to write Elsie and Haqua better, and I think rewatching a series for a fanfic is basically non negotiable. But anyways, let's get into the chapter.**

The concert… was really chaotic.

I had listened to Just Ice on the radio since I was a kid, which is strange in hindsight, given many of her songs involved drugs and running away to avoid dealing with their problems.

Well, it would only make sense that the audience that listened to her would have the same outlook.

When we went Elsie, Haqua, and I chose to stand, because I didn't want to pay an extra 40 dollars for each of us to sit down. Plus, it wasn't bad, since we came an hour early, and we were directly in front of the stage.

However, as soon as everyone filled the concert hall, all the audience members were drunk, some of them were even actually high, and everyone was crowding in front and behind me, crushing me between them.

However, despite this, Elsie, and even Haqua, all looked at the singer with joy, and even seemed to be caught on the singing train. Everyone around me was singing along Stay High.

It made me smile, then another person spilled their drink on me, making me pissed off. I tried speaking to them, but they were too drunk/too high to notice. The loud music playing didn't help my situation either.

'Why the actual hell did I agree to do this?'

I sighed, but I couldn't hear myself.

It felt claustrophobic.

Then, while I was looking around, I noticed one of the security guards was carrying a gun, which was sort of normal.

What was a little less normal was that he was carrying it over to the audience. Then, he subtly pointed it at the stage. Then at Elsie and Haqua. Then at Just Ice.

His wrists were shaking, and his face and eyes were covered, but something inside of him snapped, and his hands stopped shaking, and he aims it straight at the singer.

I tried warning the artist, but she couldn't hear me.

Why would she? She herself was singing too loudly, along with all the drunk/high audience members.

I tried talking to Elsie and Haqua, but they were mesmerized by the singer.

'Come on, Elsie. Haqua. Please, move! Listen to me!'

Then, the gunshot went off. Three, in fact. Two towards Elsie and Haqua, and one towards Just Ice.

However, it didn't reach the artist, nor any of my friends.

The first two bullets, I took through my shoulders. I didn't react, silently screaming, before jumping off of one of the rafters that were in front of the stage, and took the last bullet in my ribcage, just in front of my lungs.

Everyone crouched down when they heard the gunshots, not having any idea about what was happening. Within seconds, all the people that were crowding inside the building, who were previously singing at the loudest they could have been, were completely silent.

It was as if sound could suddenly kill.

The artist stopped singing at the gunshots, and instead of screaming, she looked around herself.

Right below her was me, my arms were lying apart, in a cross.

"Oh my God!" She jumped off the stage, and her backup band stopped playing once she noticed me.

"Call an Ambulance!" She yelled.

"Ugh… you don't have to yell so loud." My eyes were closing, me being tired from standing up for 3 plus hours, plus having bullets stuck in my arms and chest didn't help much either.

"Come on, stay awake with me!" She started shaking me, with tears dripping down her face.

"Jeez. No need to shake me and cry, I'm fine. Just…" I held in my groaning and pain."Let me get up." I said, despite myself.

I opened my eyes to see… a beautiful, crying woman.

'Wow. She's… really pretty, actually.'

Her auburn hair, her hazel eyes, and a face that had no imperfections. Maybe that was the makeup. I wasn't sure. I resisted the urge to touch her face, worrying if I could damage her perfection.

She… held a joyful smile towards me, despite what had just happened.

I held onto the rafters, and used it to stand up. I coughed up blood while standing up, but I ignored the pain. She tried helping me up, but I shooed her away. The security officer tried pointing his gun again, this time towards me. I looked at him with utter rage, which made him hesitate.

That hesitation was all I needed to speak.

"Elsie, Haqua, can you catch that guy?"

The artist seemed confused. "Huh?"

Elsie and Haqua, now out of their shock, used their scarf as makeshift handcuffs, and took his gun away from him in seconds.

"They are up and coming police officers." I said to the band. They sighed.

"We were planning on just turning off our brains and enjoying your concert, but I guess that would never be the case for people like us."

I gently walked over the rafters, with my blood spilling over the floor, towards Elsie and Haqua.

I looked in disgust over the security guard.

"Hey, Just Ice, I know that's not your name, but can you just call the police?"

She was stunned.

"How… how can you just take, like, several bullets in you, and walk it off?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

Then, as physics and human anatomy finally kicked in, I hissed.

"Yep, never mind, that pain is setting in." I clutched my stomach and arms.

Haqua and Elsie both tried crowding around me, but I shooed them away.

"Do you need-"

"NO." I said. That took everyone that was there by surprise.

Everyone who was near me backed up.

"Call the police. I'm expendable. You aren't."

"Huh? What do you mean-"

"GO!" I yelled. "GET THE POLICE NOW! That's what I mean!"

She ran off, and called the police, with still tears running down her face.

In short, the police came, arresting the guard.

"You did a good job. Maybe you three should consider becoming Police officers."

He held a donut and coffee in his hands, and he looked to be really fat. His face made him look empathetic, and even slightly kind. However, to most, that isn't what sells a person. Looks were, and he didn't look like the person attracting women.

Haqua and Elsie seemed bashful, but I said, "Sorry. I want to help out in a different way. These guys are from Japan, so maybe back at home, they might want to be that."

"Oh, so that's why they are cosplaying?"

I looked at them, and saw what they were wearing. Sure enough, Elsie was wearing a kimono, and their scarf made them look almost like an anime character. Haqua looked very similar to that useless goddess, wearing normal purple and blue-stripped clothing

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Japan is a lot like anime, isn't it?" He looked dreamily as he walked back to his car, coffee and donuts in hand.

I didn't know whether to be creeped out by him, or charmed.

The man started walking back to his car, and he said,

"Well, might as well come in. You did catch him after all."

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Eh, legal smegal. No one's going to arrest a police officer, are they?"

I remembered cases when a police officer did illegal things, but because it was not previously established, they went off the hook.

"Well, I guess not."

I shrugged, and I got into the car, because I didn't sense any foul play from him.

"Hey, we'll meet you there, okay?"

Elsie seemed to still be rather energetic.

"Why don't you two sit in the back?"

They took one look at the criminal, and just deadpanned,

"No."

He shrugged.

"Your loss."

He turned the key on his car, and the car revved up.

Then, he accelerated out of the concert venue, and into wherever he was

The artist looked like she was running towards the police car from the concert venue, but the police car was driving off as soon as I locked eyes with her.

"Anyways, how did you catch the guy?"

I knew that as soon as I got in, I would be interrogated.

"Well, I saw reflections off the gun, and I was warning everyone at the concert to move, but unfortunately, none of them did."

"Oh." He looked at me for a second, as if he were trying to spot if I was lying, but he focused back on the road.

It was a slow ride in New York, with traffic being a huge concern.

That's partially why my Dad decided to live in the suburbs.

To escape all the noise.

Too bad that meant removing the rest of the comfort from that noise.

"So, what did you do once the gunshots went off?"

"I went in front of them to protect them. It went in my shoulder, and my rib."

He seemed… concerned.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"Nah, I'm good. I'll tough it out."

His expression shifted to one of… pride. Or was it satisfaction?

"Not a lot of guys are like that nowadays, are they?" He asked, facing the road now.

"No, not really." I thought of how the guys in my school, as tough as they appeared on the outside, and as athletic they would appear to be, would crumble whenever shit hit the fan, and needed my help.

He sighed. "I missed those kinds of guys. Those cool dudes who could walk away with someone shooting at them without even flinching, with bullets inside them, they kept moving forward. Those kinds of people are cool." He looked down towards his steering wheel.

"Not like now, where these guys are soft, and can't handle being insulted. In my days, we didn't have to talk about feelings, or how we felt, because us guys were just that tough."

"No, they just seemed like they were like that. They were physically strong, and mentally weak."

"Huh?" He said.

"Guys nowadays still act like they are tough. But whenever, excuse my language, shit hits the fan, most of them crumble."

He seemed surprised by my attitude, but I wasn't finished.

"But, at least they have the strength to admit their weakness, and show that they are crumbling. They have the mental strength to listen to others and let others help them. It's not like back then, that you had stuck up guys who felt like they were invincible, and when they lost, or fell, they were too stubborn to ask others for help, not to mention the other problems that they had growing up."

I continued to look forward, even through the heavy traffic.

"I want to become that kind of perfect person, where I can admit when I am weak, but stay strong when I can, physically, and mentally."

He continued to look in front of him, this time with a smile.

"You're pretty mature for your age."

I chuckled. "I get that a lot."

He drove to the station, and took the prisoner out, into the interrogation room.

"Hey kid! Want to interrogate this guy?"

"Interrogate him about what? He's a criminal, and he has multiple eyewitnesses, including me."

"Well, we still got to know why he did it!"

'Fair enough.' I walked into the interrogation room.

One of the police officer's seniors talked to him, but the guy convinced him, so he let me stay inside the building. Then, Haqua and Elsie caught up, and then were intensely watching the events unfold.

'Yare yare.'

"So, let's cut the crap, and talk."

I sat down in the small metal chair in front of the security guard.

He looked down, his hat covering his eyes. He looked down.

"So, why did you try to kill Just Ice?"

He didn't look up, even when I spoke to him.

"Why… did you stop me… from riding her from this world?"

I ignored the last part of his sentence."

"What do you mean? Of course I would save someone in need."

"You aren't getting any reward out of this, protecting that… monster?"

I snorted.

"No. But you are."

I folded my arms in front of me.

"The only difference is if you either cooperate and tell us why you did what you did, or you don't, and get life sentencing, maybe even death."

I studied on basically everything about… well, everything, not willing to let any piece of knowledge escape my grasp.

He chuckled, but it was full of pain. "Yeah. If I tried killing another person, or myself, no one would bat an eye."

"So? You aren't worth anything to anyone. You, and I, are expendable. People like Just Ice, whether you want to admit it or not, they have talent, influence, and more importantly, money. Besides, you can't justify being a murderer."

"Even if she murdered someone?" He looked up, showing his burning brown eyes.

"... What?"

"She was responsible for my daughter's happiness. She was so happy, getting the chance to meet her hero. She always wanted to be popular, like Just Ice."

His eyes lowered. "Heroes are never what you expect, are they? When she met her, she was really rude, telling her to get out of her way, and that she would never be as popular as her, so trying to achieve that was useless. She told that to her face. Imagine being so heartless that you tell someone's baby daughter that she will never amount to her dream. I had to bury her, after she… "

He broke down, but I didn't comfort him.

"The people you shot, did you know who they were?"

Still crying beyond my view, he said, "No. I didn't."

It was choked out.

However, I didn't flinch.

"Then you have made the exact same mistake Just Ice has made, haven't you?"

"Huh?"

He snapped back to me.

"You don't care about people who you've never met, and, on your worst day, you've decided that they don't matter."

I bit my lip while speaking.

"You treated their lives, two of which were my friends, like they were nothing. Let me tell you this.

I slammed his head to the table, which made him groan in pain, even though I didn't even make a clank sound against the metal table.

"Your actions, or inaction, led to your daughter's death. You have no right to blame others for your mistakes. You decided to kill others just to vent your frustrations?"

I slammed his arms against the table, preventing him from moving.

"That's… not a good excuse… for both of you."

I barely felt like I was talking to him, even if that did apply to him.

He had nothing to say, only looked at me through the corner of his eye. My eyes revealed everything to him.

"What have you gone through?" He stared back at me with widen eyes.

I released my grip on him, and walked away.

"Hey! Kid!"

"I've had to bury my sister… and my mother."

My eyes became wet, but I didn't acknowledge it.

Somehow, that made it dry up.

He gasped.

"And yet, I moved forward. I'm the top scorer in my school. I have a job, a life, and… friends. I have become someone I can be proud of."

I held my hand on the door handle.

"You may have lost that chance, but if you can, do something that will make you live the rest of your life with pride. Imagine if your daughter was here right now. What would she tell you to do?"

I walked out, leaving that question in his mind.

I walked to the detective on the case. "He's fine. I think you can talk to him now, but he seems to have no other people working with him. He kept talking about his daughter.

"Can't believe I have a teenager telling me what to do."

I walked away, not willing to deal with him. "That teenager also gave you an opportunity to properly interrogate the killer. Try talking to him now. Alright?"

He seemed coerced, and he said, "Alright. Fine, whatever you say, brat."

He walked into the interrogation room, and the police officer laughed.

"Wow. You have balls to talk to the detective like that."

He continued laughing, slamming his desk a few times.

"Anyway, goodbye son. Hope you have a good night."

No signs of pity were in his voice, even though I heard him speak through the speakers.

More like… pride.

That, unknown to him, made me internally smile.

"Uh, good night."

I walked back towards Elsie and Haqua, to which I found them both pouting.

"Uh, what happened?"

Elsie and Haqua told me, at the same time,

"Just Ice has a loose soul in her!"

I sighed.

"Okay."

I didn't have the energy to be surprised.

"Did she say anything to you guys?"

Haqua, this time, spoke.

"Well, she said how glad she was to have us over, and gave us tickets in case we would ever decide to go to her concert again."

She kept on flipping her hair, which slightly bothered me.

"What? No she didn't!"

Elsie seemed to be the person who would have a hard time lying, and she seemed way too innocent for her own good.

"She asked us what your name was, and we gave it to her. She did give us another set of tickets, though."

Her last sentence was murmured, and if it weren't for the fact that I had really good hearing, I wouldn't have heard her.

"Well, that's good. Let's go home, then. I'll plan."

Elsie picked me up, rather suddenly, but I didn't react.

Within seconds, because apparently they could break the laws of physics, we arrived back home, outside of New York City.

The lights were turned off, so I just opened the door with my key.

"Wait, where's your father? Does he not stay here at this time?"

"He's usually gone. Probably to some private golfing course, or maybe a bar. Probably a place that has both."

I went straight to my room, not wanting to answer their questions.

But they followed me up anyways.

Opening my door shortly after I just closed it.

Haqua was the first to speak.

"Hey, do you want me to heal your wounds?"

I chuckled.

"There are some things… you guys can't heal."

I stopped myself from tearing up, even when they said it was okay.

I turned in for the night, burying myself into the covers of my bed.

Then, I heard shaking.

"What? What are you guys doing? Are you doing this out of pity?"

They didn't answer at first, just burying themselves next to me.

Haqua though, spoke.

"No. But, as our buddy, it is our job that you are healthy. You are a king, remember?"

I chuckled.

'Well, I hope I was one.'

**Well, that's the next chapter. Thanks for tuning in, I worked really hard on this chapter. Though, I have a connected universe between this and The Last Avenger, so expect some indirect references to appear. Anyways, bye.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here I am again, for the seventh chapter of this series. Now, here's back to the future, with Raja at the center of attention. Now, honestly, I want to have a first person story, but I want to have it switch perspectives. Should I tell the story from Cassidy, Just Ice, and Leslie's point of view? Or should I keep the main focus on Raja? Or should I do something in between? Honestly, I didn't do that well in the last chapter. Along with a few grammatical mistakes, a lot of problems were in it. So I want to revise it after publishing this chapter. **

I walked through the front door.

In a few seconds, I wished I didn't.

"Kami sama? Where were you?!" She buried herself into my stomach and chest, and pushed me into the front door.

'Kami Sama? Doesn't that mean…?'

I shook the thought away as I looked at a very distressed Elsie.

Basically, a regular Elsie at that point.

"I was at my job."

"HUH?!" Realization of her state hit her, and she stood up, getting off me.

Haqua came downstairs, and in a surprise to everyone, tackled me to the floor as well.

"What?"

"Idiot! Where were you?!"

'Huh?'

"I… was at my job."

"Huh?! We had looked across the entire city! Where did you go?!"

My eyes narrowed.

"Have you never been to the subway?"

They only looked confused.

I sighed.

"Didn't you have trains in Japan? I took a train to the city so I could do my job."

They seemed… relieved.

"Wait, you two were looking for me?"

I felt an onslaught of guilt coming right towards me.

"Yeah! If you died, we would die with you!"

I sighed once again.

"I'm sorry, for making you worry. I didn't mean to."

Elsie and Haqua both were surprised.

"Why do you apologize?"

Haqua acted like the word was completely unused by her.

"Because I did something wrong. I didn't tell you guys where I was going."

"No, it's not about that. We can agree upon that."

'Ouch.'

"What I meant was, why do you act so apologetic? Usually… we expected you to just ignore us..."

She muttered the last few lines to herself.

"What? Do you two think all Gamers are the same?"

They both nodded.

I groaned this time.

"Seriously? That's like saying every demon or devil is the same. Wouldn't you be confused if someone said that you and Elsie were the same because both of you were devils?"

"How can you think us to be the same?"

She almost held a disgusted voice, which I could tell, hurt Elsie. I kept myself from reacting, however.

"That's what I am saying."

I didn't want to explain any longer.

"Though, on the plus side, Just Ice and Leslie had come to my work."

"Huh?! How did they know?!"

'They have lived in a different age.'

"They knew probably because of my name. Raja is only a popular name with indians."

They looked at me curiously.

"They could probably have tracked my phone, so that's probably why they found me."

"They can track your-"

"Yes, they can."

'Jeez. Five minutes here, and I'm already exhausted.'

Then, I heard a knock on the door.

"Oh great, an Amazon delivery. Is it my g902?"

I opened the door… and saw Just Ice.

I closed the door immediately.

"Hey, what the fuck?!"

She pushed against my arm with both of hers, and tried to keep the door open.

I sighed.

"Why the hell are you here?"

"Is that any way to treat a world famous sing-"

"Yeah yeah. You're all the same to me. Stalking me to my job. Now my house? I don't care if you are Bill Gates, I'm not comfortable with someone stalking me."

'Why are you doing this? You need to bring her in. You're just hurting your chances.'

My rational side… kicked in.

I… weakened for a single second… but I stayed strong.

"Anyways, why the hell are you here? If I was stalking you, you wouldn't exactly be giving me the chance to talk, would you? You'd call the police immediately."

"So?"

'Ugh. People are such hypocrites.'

"Ugh. Just go."

"Why? I need to ask!"

"What the hell do you need to ask me? I answered everything at work, didn't I?"

"No."

She said that so adamantly… that I had to find out.

Curiosity killed the cat.

Well… it also killed my life.

I opened the door, and she fell flat on her face.

"Ouch."

"Here. Need help?"

I gave her my hand.

She took it, and stood up.

"Thanks."

Eventually, she sat down.

On my chair.

"You have a pretty nice house. Where's your Mom and Dad?"

'Does everyone have to ask that?'

"So… is that what you wanted to ask?"

"Huh? You aren't going to answer that?"

"No. Why would I?"

She… came back to deep thought.

She started curling her short hair with her right hand.

"What… happens… if you meet someone who loves you like the world… and you don't… feel the same?"

My eyes narrowed.

"Why the hell would you ask me that? Do I look like the person who has people drooling over me?"

"Those girls?"

She pointed at Elsie and Haqua… who were unsuccessfully hiding.

"They're my friends."

"Whatever you say."

I sat in the light blue chair.

"Well, if, hypothetically speaking, I had that situation happen to me, I'd talk to her. I would just have a conversation. We'd talk… and I'd say that I didn't feel the same way. That said… I'd tell her that she would have other people to love her, and that she would probably find someone better."

"That's… actually rather responsible."

"That's who I've become."

"Huh?"

"Though, why do you ask? And you delayed your entire tour just to ask me that?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

'She's an open book.'

"There was news about it. About you taking a break before your tour even started officially."

That was true.

"Damn those leakers."

She muttered that under her breath.

"Anyways, can I ask you something?"

"Huh? What?"

"Can you not go to my Martial Arts school?"

"Why not?"

"I have to explain why I don't want a, objectively speaking, beautiful and famous singer/artist, being a part of the same Martial Arts school as I am?"

She smiled at that.

"Finally. You seem to care "

"Ugh. Why do you even want to join my school?"

She looked down.

"I… looked outside your school. It had respect… discipline, and self control plastered on the front."

She quietly chuckled.

"Normally… I'd roll my eyes at that. Just some normal bullshit that schools say to entice people to go to it.

She sighed.

"But… knowing you… who kept a cool head… even when you were shot multiple times… you were smart… and responsible. You… didn't as much flinch when a guy shot you, and… you saved… me.*

She looked up at me.

"I… want to be like that. Be able to… be calm. Not yell at people for things that aren't their fault. Learn how to… respect… even when I've been slighted."

"Jeez. That's what you want? Not all this talk about bravery?*

"No… that was a part of it. But… I really want to become… better. As a person."

I sighed.

'So… I know what to do.'

"Why don't I help teach you? Martial Arts."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Um… okay then."

"Don't worry. I have other people to take private lessons with you."

I looked back at Elsie and Haqua, who were both still hiding.

She… unconsciously, sighed in relief.

"What? Do you think I'll hurt you or something?"

"Not… never mind. I should go."

'Now she wants to go?! When we haven't actually done or planned anything?!'

"Wait, when do you want to meet me?"

"How about… every Sunday? At around 2?"

I smirked.

"Sure. I'll be ready then."

She left, and then they emerged from their hiding spots.

"What? Why are you having her meet you once a week? You do know that she is going to release the devil spawn if you don't kiss her quickly, don't you?"

"Well… unlike Cassidy, who had subconscious feelings for me, that emerged from her guilt… I have no history with Just Ice. She's… a stranger."

I turned around.

"So… in the few months that she's going to be here… I need to also do stuff at my school."

"What? What stuff, Raja?"

"Well… there's a play audition in an hour. So… can you carry me there in 30 minutes?"

They looked… confused.

"That's it?"

"Yeah. That's it."

**Well… we'll see. Anyways, I am still revising my previous chapters, so make sure to keep up to date with them. I've only revised the first chapter on FF, but not on AO3, which I'm going to fix. I'll try to edit the rest of the chapters soon. So… be patient. I want to make this story incredible.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, and here's my eight chapter. This is what I hope my writing for this story will be. So, it's going to actually be good. But… beware. It has some themes of self harm… and gets rather dark. The next chapter gets pretty dark too. So, if you get triggered by that, beware. Let's get into the eight chapter.**

Walking on the stage… with uproariously applause.

None of it was real.

All of the people at my school... laughed behind my back, about me being a tryhard, and all that.

They were all… waiting for me to fail.

They all were fakes.

Then again… I was just as much of one.

'I'll beat the rest of them. I'll set the expectations.'

I controlled myself as I walked into the stage.

I had to immerse myself into the role I needed to be.

'Come on. I have to do this.'

I looked at Leslie, and a bunch of the other girls who were auditioning.

Many of them, familiar.

Some… were beyond just familar to me.

Haqua, Elsie, and the small audience… all gathered behind the people wanting to audition.

I closed my eyes… remembering the panels… that changed my life.

Then… my eyes shot open.

"I stand on this stage, parted by my false glory…"

I raised my hands on the stage.

All of the judges… looked intrigued.

"Because I understand the dangerous state our world is now in!"

They looked through the script I had given them.

'They said I could either reenact something, or sing a song. I'll do the harder one, and do it good.'

"Yes. This problem affects me… and it affects everyone living in this world!"

I looked through the small crowd that had "cheered" me on.

They all shut up, now that they saw me as a legitimate threat to their position in the play.

"The danger facing our world… can all be traced back to the existence of Eldians."

They… were confused.

"I… would have chosen to never been born, if it were up to me."

I remembered… the pain I felt that day.

Her… grave… still buried in the backyard.

One… I laid the grave for.

"I've hated my blood… more than anyone else…"

That brought a tear to my eye.

Several fell.

"I wish… for the extinction of all Eldians…"

The audience… looked confused.

They weren't sure whether to laugh… or to feel sympathy.

I made a third option.

Rage… then came into my eyes.

"But… I do not wish to die!"

They all sat back… the small amount of people auditioning.

I said… the few words that changed my life.

"Because… I was born into this world!"

Everyone then, heckled me, clapping over my speech.

Over them, I spoke.

"We may belong to different nations and races… but I ask of you who do not wish to die… to lend me your strength!"

I spoke to all of them.

They… all sat back down.

The judges brought them back down

"Please, I want to ensure our future together!"

I almost begged.

But then rage came back into my voice.

"I want you to fight with me! Against the devils on paradi!"

My hands were jittery.

I felt like I was about to fall down.

I was on my last leg.

But… I kept going.

"It is true… we still face many issues that keep the militaries of the world from joining hands!"

'Come on. Just a little bit longer. We need to finish our speech.'

"But I believe we can band together in the face of this powerful enemy!"

I raised my fist into the air.

"We should be able to overcome everything if only we could work together as one!"

"As an ambassador for the Marleyian government, I, Willy Tybur… wish for world peace!"

"And so I proclaim, on this day… to the enemy forces on Paradi…"

My last line… I saved all my power in my final punch.

My arms were opened, but I yelled as loud as I could.

"This… IS A DECLARATION OF WAR!"

The last line… shook the entire stage.

For several seconds… nothing happened.

After that… no one spoke.

It was a graveyard, deathly quiet… and no movement.

Some people didn't even pay attention.

I looked into the background… and saw people pulling out their phones.

'Damn it. That wasn't the power I needed. I can't motivate people to listen with that weakness.'

No one clapped.

So… I just moved off the stage.

As I left… something unexpected happened.

The judges, and the parents… applauded.

"That… was incredible… Raja."

All the judges looked… with awe.

"Thanks."

I walked off of the stage, and sat back where all the people auditioning sat.

I sat at the very back.

"Alright. Leslie… Alexandria… you are up."

"Oh. Okay."

She had the small clapping, but not as loud as the one that introduced me.

But… it was genuine.

Which meant more than the loudness of it.

She went on stage… and decided to sing a song.

She wasn't the only one.

Most did.

She started singing… Mr. Saxobeat.

'She's not that bad at singing… but there's no passion in it. She doesn't care… about the song she's singing about. Why join if you aren't passionate about it?

I… remembered what Cassidy said.

'Then again… I don't blame her… exactly. After near death, that will take a toll on you.'

She sang the song, and went back to sit down.

Then, all the people… surprisingly, auditioned rather quickly.

No one else had a long ass speech like I did.

"So… on Monday, we will announce the results for the 30 people starring in Romeo and Juliet!"

The judges, one woman, and two men, stood up on the stage.

"Now… before we leave here… I would like to say that all of you did very well. Great job with your auditions."

I almost snickered.

'Seriously. We aren't elementary school students. We can take being bad. Just say it.'

"So, without further adieu, thank you all for coming here this Saturday! We hope to meet many of you after school, for our play. Thank you so much for joining us today. We hope you all have a great rest of your evening."

I walked out first, and passed through the hallways.

I looked at my phone, through Snapchat, Instagram, and… Tik Tok.

'Whether I like it or not, people give a lot of their personal life on those apps. So suck it up, Raja. You'll have to find out their lives one way or another.'

A bunch of the people had recorded it… putting music that basically obstructed my voice.

'Damn you all. If I'm bad, just say it. Stop beating around the bush.'

I looked on my phone… and found one person who didn't obstruct my voice.

Leslie's… account.

She recorded it… as is.

No filters.

No music.

No weird zoom ins.

Nothing.

Just… me.

My… entire speech.

I shoved my phone back into my pocket.

"Raja is such a tryhard."

They snickered.

"I know, right? He literally tried way too hard. It's a fucking school play, not a broadway thing."

I sighed as I walked passed them.

"So, if I put in effort, I'm a tryhard. If I don't try at all, then I'm suddenly a slacker? Jeez. You guys have no chill."

They looked over at me.

I could see them in the corner of my eye.

They all laughed.

"You think you are better than us, just because you did a speech?"

"Where did you get the impression that I thought I was better than you?"

They didn't listen.

They continued to laugh.

"Seriously, stop being such a tryhard."

"Why? So you don't get showed up, and so you actually have to put in effort for something in your life?"

They stopped laughing.

"What?"

Their white skin turned red.

"Fucking do better. Seriously. Stop bitching about me being a try hard, and actually get off your asses and do something. At least I try, instead of making fun of others who do try."

I walked away from them.

I heard it unsheathed from one of them.

A… pocket knife.

"Damn it. You're that kind of person, aren't you?"

"Hey, Rob, don't-"

"AHHHHHH!"

One of them ran up to me, with a knife in the front.

In seconds, I faced him, and grabbed the knife… by the blade.

"Ow."

My hand was shaking, just trying to keep him from stabbing me.

But I didn't feel the pain.

"So you're going to hurt me… because I told you to get off your ass? Because I fucking hurt your pride?"

"Shut up!"

My hand was bleeding.

More.

More and more.

He tried pushing the blade closer and closer to me.

But I didn't feel a thing.

I didn't even look at the blade.

He eventually stopped, and the reality of the situation kicked in.

He looked at my bleeding hands in horror.

"Wha-"

"So… you done? Are you done with your tantrum?"

He looked up at me… horror and confusion burned into his eyes.

I kicked him over.

The blade… was stuck in my hand.

With the blade in my hand… I threw the knife to the wall.

I tightened my fists, and stayed skinny.

I had a fighting stance.

"So… you really want to fight this?"

I showed them my hands, dropping them.

They… were terrified.

My hand… didn't regenerate.

But the bleeding… stopped.

"How…"

"Why do you care? Just get out of here. Stop bitching about me being a tryhard, and get better. If you can't do that, drop out of the play."

At first, they looked… terrified.

Then, they regained their pride, and stood up.

They ran around me, saying, "Fuck you." And the sort.

The guy who stabbed me… didn't say anything.

I only sighed.

"Jeez. This is a lot of blood."

I found paper towels on the opposite side of the lockers.

By the time I had the paper towels… the blood started to evaporate.

Bizzare, I know.

It wasn't exactly the same for me.

'Well, I should still clean this up.'

I looked at the blade… and the reflection.

The blood evaporated… leaving only the reflection of me.

I had a grim expression… but the blood was nowhere to be found.

I started to clean the floor… but that thought… continued to haunt me.

'A bloodless death…'

I shook that thought away.

'No.'

Eventually, I managed to get the floor cleaned, and nothing was left there.

Not even the fumes of blood.

However, on my skin, the blood hadn't evaporated.

'Luckily they fought me instead. Imagine if they did that with their girlfriends or family. They… don't deserve to have their sons or boyfriends become criminals.'

My expression hardened as I threw away the paper towels.

"Hey… Raja?"

Behind me… came one of the judges.

"Ms. Lorite? What are you doing here?"

"Um… I was going to my car… when I saw… you were bleeding."

"Oh yeah."

I looked at my hand.

"It's nothing."

"Nothing?! Your hand is covered in blood!"

She grabbed my hand.

I… didn't react.

'Her hand… is pretty soft.'

"Let's get you to my office immediately."

"Okay."

I shrugged.

She dragged me to the nurse's office.

I remembered her talking about being a voice actor for a show.

She took leave a few months ago, presumably for that.

She didn't say what show she was going though.

"I already told you… I'm fine."

"And I told you… you are bleeding."

"No I'm not."

She cleaned off my hand.

No blood came out.

All the caked on blood disappeared.

No wound was visible.

"See?"

She… looked perplexed.

"Then… why was your hand covered in blood?"

"Lockers are sharp, Ms. Lorite. I accidentally slammed my hand against one.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Stop lying."

"Why do you think I'm lying? Have I lied beforehand?"

Her lips thinned.

"Well… no."

I stood up.

"Well, I need to go."

"But… you need to check out!"

"Firstly, there is no injury, and secondly…"

I turned around.

"It's a Saturday. It's fine."

She… seemed frustrated.

"Raja!"

Elsie collided with me.

I nearly fell over on the floor.

"That was amazing! How you yelled out… and you made everyone look amazed!"

I chuckled slightly.

"Thanks Elsie. It wasn't that good, though."

"Um, Raja, I'd think that was rather impressive. Your speech ability."

I… smiled.

"Thanks. That means a lot coming from you two."

"Us two… what does that mean?!"

I laughed.

'She really is a tsundere.'

Then… Elsie's headband went off.

"Dororororo."

"What's that?"

It went silent as Ms. Lorite spoke.

"Nothing. We just need to go."

"Oh… okay."

'Three people… with a loose soul.'

My brain started to work on a solution as I turned around.

I walked out of the nurse's office.

"Just… Raja?"

I turned around.

"Huh?"

Ms Lorite looked at me… almost jealous.

"You're… really lucky."

My eyebrows raised.

"What? Where did that come from?"

"Nothing."

I left… thinking about what she said.

'Am… I lucky?'

My expression became grim once again.

Elsie carried me again, and we went back home.

When I opened the door… it was littered with bottles of liquor.

"Huh? What the hell?"

"It's fine. Let me clean this up."

I gently placed the dozen or so bottles away.

"What is all this?"

Haqua looked disgusted.

"It's… alcohol? He probably had a party or something with his friends."

I kept cleaning up.

I carried the trash bag around me… collecting all the bottles.

"Anyways, can you help me out?"

"Um… okay."

Elsie was the first to respond.

They ended up using some kind of magical suction device.

Like a space vacuum.

By 7… we were done.

"Nice. Thanks for the help."

I removed all the dishes strewn across the place.

"It feels like you guys are super overpowered."

"Y… yeah."

Haqua was confused.

"Anyways, what do you guys want for dinner? I'll make you something special. Maybe some Ramen or Soba."

"Why?"

I turned around.

"Why… do you just accept what is happening here?"

"Hey, he's my dad. He works, I clean the house."

"It's not that. How… do you… not feel angry with your dad basically trashing your house? Forcing you to clean it?"

I shrugged.

"I just got used to it. It's his house too."

I heard my dad vomiting in the bathroom.

I sighed.

"I'll get milk with turmeric for him."

A few minutes later, everyone was on the table.

"So… you guys okay?"

My dad basically passed out on the table.

"Yeah, we are."

"Dad, wake up."

"Oh. Niha? Are you here?"

This wasn't the first time he called out to her… instead of me.

"No, it's Raja."

My eyes… narrowed.

"Oh."

"Niha? Who's… that?"

"It's not important."

I said that… harshly.

They almost seemed to sink back into their seats.

"Anyways, eat."

I gave them all their meals.

Without warning… I walked upstairs.

In my room… I sat on my chair.

This… wasn't the first time he came shitfaced.

Nor the second.

I looked at my hands.

My hand… was completely healed.

Not a single scratch was found on it.

'I wonder why I could always regenerate quickly.'

I sighed, as I sat back into my chair.

'I'm sorry. I still can't be the person you two were, Niha and Mom. I couldn't take care of dad… or be the leader he thought I could be...'

I… looked at a pair of scissors.

'Sorry… Mom. Sorry… Niha… Looks like I'm not good enough.'

I… pulled them out.

Slashing the left blade… into my hand.

I… felt a slight bit of pain… but it left.

It regenerated instantly..

'Damn. I'm so weak. I can't even go a few days without doing this. I'm supposed to be better than this.'

A few tears fell.

I made sure I was silent.

I kept cutting into myself.

Across my arms.

On my hands.

My legs.

My chest.

My feet.

Every part of my body… was scarred.

The blade... Was covered in blood.

It… kept healing, however, and… nothing was left on my body... Or on the scissors.

Barely a scar was left on my skin, let alone a wound.

I took a deep breath.

"I… really am lucky."

**Yeah. That… is his story. It's something that I wanted to pursue. He's a king… but he's at rock bottom. Hell, he's probably below that. But… like Subaru and Eren… he'll keep moving forward. Even with his pain, he will move forward. Until what? Well, you'll find out.**


End file.
